The Rest of the Scroll
by David Stryder
Summary: At long last: The final chapter! ...or is it?Haku fans will probably crucify me for this...
1. Late night reading

Well, ah... I'm gonna give Naruto another shot. Hopefully my 'other' fic will not be mentioned in any reviews, but that's not up to me, is it? Please review, though. I seem to lose the motivation to finish without them. 

Anywho, bear with me as this story unfolds. God knows which direction it'll take this time.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or anything regarding it, ...just a few episodes on my computer.

* * *

It was getting late, and the usually quiet village of Konoha was still quiet, but there were several upper-level ninja searching the rooftops, trying to find a certain blonde-haired boy. They searched high, low, and in every room and house possible, but found no one. _/This is bad/_ Iruka thought. _/Naruto couldn't have gotten that far. But ...why did he take the scroll/_ He lept from tree to tree, searching. _/Hell, how'd he know about it? The Scroll of Seals was a well-kept secret/_

When the shinobi had gathered in front of the Hokage's office, the tension was almost visible. It seemed that Naruto, the village troublemaker, had somehow stolen the Scroll of Seals, and had made off with it. This wouldn't have been so bad if it had been anyone else, but him...

Iruka's mind was still on that fateful day 12 years ago, when the monster fox, the Kyuubi, had nearly destroyed everything. How the Fourth had sacrificed his life with a forbidden juutsu to seal it away. He snapped back to reality, however, when the thought crossed his mind of what the beast would do if Naruto somehow managed to free it. Suddenly, the young sensei remembered a place he'd found the blonde hiding on a number of occasions. In an instant, he was on his way.

Mizuki, however, was already on his way there, with his 2 large shurikens strapped to his back. After all, that's where he told Naruto to go. _/It won't be long, now. That brat has done so much, I almost feel bad about taking it all away./_ His grin was clear in the moonlight as he rushed off into the nearby woods.

xxxxXxxxx

Uzumaki Naruto was not called a troublemaker for nothing. He was the village idiot. He lived to make a fool of himself. If he didn't, ...well, he just would think about that right now. Running for your life is something he had a hard time doing when he was thinking too much. He was holding the village's most prized possesion, after all. Chances were slim that he'd get out of this in one piece, if caught.

As he jumped around in the trees, he heard a noise behind him. Quickly, he jumped down and hid himself in the bushes. Nervously, Naruto peered through the leaves and spotted Iruka-sensei, who landed right on the spot the blonde had just been standing on. He watched as his teacher searched, turning his head slowly from side to side. Apparently the night was too dark for his eyes, because the elder man jumped back into the trees and kept going.

Naruto stayed where he had hidden himself, slightly confused. Every fiber of his being had screamed 'Go to Iruka-sensei! Show yourself! You can trust him!' But his body didn't even twitch. Nothing would respond. As if instinct had sensed the immenent danger and had taken over. But ...that had never happened before.

Why now?

xxxxXxxxx

Okay, this was really strange. Mizuki was standing in Naruto's favorite hangout which was a lesser-known section of the forest, with a storage hut sitting in the middle of it. In fact, he had caught the young boy here on a number of occasions, usually accompanied by...

"Mizuki-sensei! What are you doing here?"

...Iruka. He looked over at his friend, slapping an unknowing look on his face. "Looks like you had the same idea as me. But he's not here, either."

The scar-nosed ninja seemed worried. "Do you think he knew that we'd find him here?"

"Who knows with that boy?"

Frustrated, they did a thourough search of the area, including the storage hut, but found nothing. The two set out again, together this time, but Mizuki's once smug and grinning face was gone, replaced by a look of fear and uncertainty. God only knew what would happen next.

xxxxXxxxx

Naruto, however, was having the time of his life. He couldn't read it fast enough. "Let's see... Kage Bunshin... Crap! Clones are my worst technique!" He sat back, momentarily miffed. He wiped his sweat from his forehead, then removed his goggles. He sat back up and kept reading.

And so the night wore on. The various Jounins that were searching for the blonde were getting tired, and were allowed to take a rest. They only agreed to it when the Hokage himself assured them that Naruto had no intention of taking the scroll outside the city. The boy, on the other hand, was busy training himself. By now, he had 'mastered' the Kage Bunshin and had moved on to the other techniques. When he got tired, he simply laid down on the grass and took a nap. Hours upon hours went by and the young blonde was never interupted. He was even able to get to his secret stash of food under the storage hut's floorboards, just in case he ever had to make an extended stay out here.

xxxxXxxxx

As the sun broke the horizon, the shinobi were reassembled. Even though there was a crisis, the Hokage had no intention of letting the rest of the village know. They hated Naruto enough as it was. Instead, he ordered 3 Jounins the keep a search going at all times, and the rest to go about their daily lives.

Naruto was exhausted, but happy. The blonde had just pulled his first and only 'all-nighter.' There was only one more line to read, and then he would be done. Thinking back, he remembered that Mizuki-sensei had told him about this scroll, and that if he could show even one juutsu to Iruka-sensei, that he would graduate. After that near encounter last night, Naruto began to think that his road to becoming the Fifth Hokage might become a lot shorter with the more juutsu's he learned. So why stop? Why not make that road as short as possible, and just learn all of them?

Okay, back to reality. He kept reading. _/...Wait, that doesn't make any sense. The last few lines aren't a juutsu at all. Just some funky words./_ Just as he finished that thought, and reading the last line, something began to happen. The writing in the scroll began to glow, then the entire thing lit up! Naruto dropped it and jumped back. It began eminating a bizzare, bluish-green light. The young blonde was almost hypnotized, and began walking closer. Time slowed. A subtle warmth surrounded his body. Closer.

An intense beam of light shot from the opened scroll and into Naruto's eyes, causing a severe pain, followed by darkness.

xxxxXxxxx

Well, the good news was that Naruto wasn't blinded, but he did have one killer headache. In fact, he had no idea why he was suddenly in his own room. The last thing he remembered was that big scroll glowing like the sun. Speaking of which, ...he looked around and realized that A) The scroll was nowhere to be found, and B) Iruka-sensei was sitting in the room with him, asleep.

_/Well, that explains how I got back here./_

Naruto was in his bed, so he turned to get up, groaning and clutching his head in the process. Apparently, Iruka was either a light sleeper, or was already awake, because he was up and on the blonde's case in an instant.

"Hey, Naruto! What the hell's wrong with you? Where were you last..."

"Could you keep it down a little bit, Iruka-sensei? My head's killin' me." Naruto groaned.

"I'M gonna kill you in a minute!" For a guy who just woke up, this man was very pissed. "Do you know how much of a panic you caused last night?"

Despite the pain in his head, Naruto's face brightened. "Oh, hey! Iruka-sensei! I learned some awesome techniques! Ya wanna see them?"

The elder man was stunned. _/He was training all night? And no one noticed/_

Without warning, Naruto made a seal with his hands and screamed "Mienai no Juutsu!" A cloud of smoke appeared, then dissapeared just as quickly. Naruto was gone.

"Big deal. You can hide yourself. Everyone at the academy can." Iruka did not sound impressed.

"But how _WELL_ can they hide themselves?" came a voice from RIGHT BESIDE HIS FREAKIN' EAR. Naruto?

"How did, ...wait, where are you?"

"Right here, Iruka-sensei!" There was no one else in the room.

"But where the hell are you?"

"HeeHee. You can't see me, but I'm right in front of you!" And to prove it, he flicked the taller man in his nose, sending a bolt of suprise through him. Iruka had just been bitten by thin air. Naruto WAS right in front of him, but somehow, ...he had made himself invisible.

"Naruto, that's incredible! Now, ...come back where I can see you."

The blonde reappeared in the same cloud of smoke the enshrouded him before. "I can't hold it for too long, 'cause it sucks too much chakra." He was grinning from ear to ear. Glee and confidence sharing a face that wasn't big enough for both. "Wait 'til you see what else I can do! You'll have to graduate me when I show you this!"

"Wait," Iruka stopped him just before he did something else. "What gave you that idea?"

"Mizuki-sensei told me last night that if I showed you one of the skills from the scroll, you'd graduate me for sure." Naruto said, defensively.

...Mizuki-sensei?

* * *

Well, how was that? Seems like a better story approach then the last one, though probably not much room for humor. We'll see what happens. BTW, Mienai no Juutsu was something I made up that just seemed like it would have been in that scroll. I'll be making up more as he goes through them. While I won't ASK for suggestions, I'm sure they'll come anyway.

Please read and review! I need imput! Should I keep going or trash it? JUST SAY SOMETHING!


	2. Revalations

Wow. Seems this was a good idea after all. 

DISCLAIMER: See chapter 1.

* * *

Just before Iruka-sensei left, he told Naruto to stay put. After that fiasco last night, a few of the jounins still wanted his blood, so it was best to lay low for a while. ...Although he was interested in seeing this other technique Naruto had mentioned. He invited the boy back into the forest later that night, away from unwanted attention. He could show off there.

But until then, Naruto was not to leave his house. Crap. Looking around, the boy realized that this could be harder than it seemed at first. His ramen supply was running low, and he had little or nothing to do to occupy his be. "You knew where he was, but still had all of us looking on our own?"

"I didn't say I knew where he was. I just watched him." The Third turned and showed a slight grin.

Iruka walked over and stood next to his superior. "What suprised me was that ...you-know-who wasn't freed."

"Yes." He paused. "The biggest fear was that the Kyuubi would somehow use the power of the Scroll of Seals to take control and free himself, ...but it's almost as if it's quieter now than it was before..." A look of worry washed over the Hokage's wrinkled face. Should he tell Iruka about the strange light? Did he really know what to say 

Iruka walked over and stood next to his superior. "What suprised me was that ...you-know-who wasn't freed."

"Yes." He paused. "The biggest fear was that the Kyuubi would somehow use the power of the Scroll of Seals to take control and free himself, ...but it's almost as if it's quieter now than it was before..." A look of worry washed over the Hokage's wrinkled face. Should he tell Iruka about the strange light? Did he really know what to say?

xxxxxxxxx

After what seemed like weeks, night finally came. Naruto snuck outside, being careful to stay on the rooftops. Which was odd, because normally he wouldn't care. Hell, normally he'd have been there long ago! Oh, well.

The forest was much quieter without the urge to survive pounding in his ears, or the distant rustle of others closing in on him. It was almost ...too peaceful. When he arrived, the blonde was not suprised to find the site empty of life. Iruka-sensei probably wouldn't show up for some time.

"There you are," a new voice growled. Naruto turned and saw a frightening sight. Squatting in the branches of a nearby tree was Mizuki-sensei, though worn out and aggrivated. "Why the hell didn't you come here LAST night, like I told you!" With that, he jumped down to the ground, grunting as he landed.

This was almost too much. The scared blonde began backing away, the dry grass crackling under his feet.

"You even gave the scroll back. How sad." The white-haired shinobi unstrapped the large shuriken from his back. "I guess I'll just have to kill you. Heh... the village would consider me a hero, for getting rid of a monster like you."

"M-m-monster? What the hell... what the hell are you...?"

"Oh, of course you don't know. So I'll tell you..." There was a hint of madness in his voice. "You see, dear little Naruto, you're actually..."

"That's ENOUGH!" Iruka lauched out from behind the storage hut, flinging a kunai, which Mizuki easily blocked. This was followed by three more, each knocked out of the air by the other's larger weapon. Using his free hand, the white-haired jounin struck Iruka with several smaller shurikens, pining him to the side of the hut.

"Now where were we? Ah, yes..." Mizuki's glare returned to Naruto. "12 years ago, a rule was created in the village. A rule that no one was supposed to tell you about."

"A rule... no one was supposed to tell me?"

"That's right."

"Stop, Mizuki!" Iruka screamed from where he stood.

A look of madness appeared on the jounin's face. "The rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the Demon Fox."

Naruto's breath stopped cold.

"It means that you ...are the Nine Tails Fox Demon that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village!"

Iruka finally managed to free himself. "STOP IT!"

Naruto was in shock. He could not move, even if he wanted to.

"You have been lied to by everyone. Didn't you find it odd how everyone hated you?"

The blonde was no longer listening to this little speech. Memories were flashing through his head, visions of the people of the village looking on him with cold eyes. Eyes that looked at him as if he was nothing. A monster.

It all made perfect sense.

Iruka limped over, still bleeding, and stood between Mizuki and his student. "You were mostly right, Mizuki. About the Demon Fox, and all. However, ..." he looked back at Naruto. "_He_ is not the Demon Fox. He is Uzumaki Naruto, of Konoha village... and my student."

The young blonde was in tears now. For the first time in his life, Naruto had been acknowledged. Someone actually cared enough to admit that he was a human being like everyone else!

The man before them simply spat in response. "Well, if you're going to protect him," Mizuki started spinning the immense shuriken. "...I guess I'll have to cut you both down!"

The next several moments happened in a flash. Mizuki charged, whirling his weapon with killer intent. Naruto managed to quickly dash around Iruka and land a kick in Mizuki's face, dead center. This knocked the older man back several feet, the shuriken flying off into the distance.

"Don't ...touch ...him." Naruto's voice was cold and firm. "Or I'll kill you."

Mizuki recovered and lept to his feet. "What could a brat like you do against me, a jounin? I'll tear you apart!"

Naruto was ready. He formed the appropriate seals and screamed "Kage Bunshin no Juutsu!" Instantly there were hundreds of Narutos; several in the tree branches, most on the ground, but all glaring at one person.

"Is this supposed to scare me?" The white-haired jounin challenged with a slight shake in his voice.

Iruka, meanwhile, was stunned. /Did he say Kage Bunshin? Shadow Clones? He had a hard enough time making a regular clone for the exam the other day/ But his eyes were not decieving him; there were hundreds of real bodies in a clearing that, not a minute ago, was home to only three. /So they're not illusions, but physical bodies. ...Is this the power of the Scroll/

Needless to say, the rest of the fight was one-sided. Even a high-level ninja can only do so much when he's completely overwhelmed.

xxxxxxxxx

The two stayed in the clearing for about an hour, just so that Iruka could heal enough to get up and walk. Before they started off however, the teacher turned to the student and said "Close your eyes for a moment."

Naruto obeyed, allowing darkness to engulf his vision once again. He could feel Iruka-sensei doing something with his goggles, but he didn't ask. He just waited. ...And waited. "Can I open them yet?"

"Okay, you can open them."

In the dim starlight, it took the blonde a moment to realize that Iruka-sensei was no longer wearing his forehead protector. And that he was also holding Naruto's goggles in his hand. And that he was grinning.

"Congratulations on graduating."

* * *

Well, that was cool. I managed to take the latter half of the first episode and re-write it into two good-size chapters. I think I may have something, here.

Anywho, read and review! Opinions are liked and welcomed! Hell, I'll take flames, too!

BTW, Mienai translates into invisible. And thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter! Just wait 'til you see what I'll think of next!


	3. The Meeting

Okay, that last chapter was a little shorter than I wanted, but I'll try to make up for it with this chapter. And a special thanks to Sakuul. I'll keep your pointers in mind. 

BTW, I'm skipping over the incident with Konohamaru. It would just be a waste of my time and your time. Nothing changed, trust me.

DISCLAIMER: See chapter 1. (I can't even claim all the lines! A lot of them are direct quotes!)

* * *

This was the morning Naruto had been waiting for. The date was circled and marked several times on his calander so he couldn't possibly miss it. And there was only one true way to celebrate a big day like this: breakfast!

Uzumaki Naruto wobbled through the kitchen, then over to his little table, still in his pajamas, carrying a bowl of 'breakfast ramen' and a carton of milk. As he ate, his thoughts went to the day ahead. Or his version of it.

_/Since everyone else in the class graduated, that means Sakura-chan will be there! And no one else knows that Iruka-sensei let me graduate, so she'll be suprised! 'Wow, congratulations, Naruto! I'm so happy you made it!' Yeah, that's what she ought to say. But that stupid Sasuke kid will also be there. God, ...why'd a guy like that have to be in my class, anyway? GAA! I hate that show-off./_ He drank about half of the carton of milk, then stood up and got dressed for the day. It was time for the explanitory meeting.

xxxxXxxxx

Half an hour had passed since then, and the young blonde found himself in his usual seat in the classroom. The one right next to Uchiha Sasuke. He hated that seat. It was, however, at just the right angle for Hyuuga Hinata to watch him without it being too obvious. _/So, Naruto-kun made it through graduation. I'm so happy for him./_ She smiled a half-smile.

A dull rumbling became known. Soon, it became a dim roar. It quickly became louder, then abruptly ended when Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino squeezed past each other to get into the room first. "GOAL!" Both girls looked worn and tired. Once again, these two were competing their butts off. But that was a moot point.

Naruto grinned, blushing just slightly. _/Sakura-chan's here/_ At that moment, the pink-haired girl looked in his direction. _/And she's looking at me/_ She even started a light jog towards him, grinnin' like a fool. Making a sad attempt at being a gentleman, Naruto stood and waved, "Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

...And was quickly thrown to the ground with a gruff "Get outta my way!" followed by a sweet, girly "Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"

_/Sasuke again. Why is it always Sasuke/_ The young ninja hardly noticed as a large argument broke out between the female students over who would get to sit next to the black-haired boy. I was here first! I was in the room first! I asked him first! Yadda Yadda Yadda. Of course the Uchiha only looked up, slowly, unintrested, then lowered his face once again.

xxxxXxxxx

"That's him? This year's number one rookie, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Eight Jounins were gathered around the Hokage's desk, watching the events in the classroom through a little crystal ball sitting on a pillow. "That's right." The old man replied.

A nearby female ninja spoke up. "He's a survivor of the Uchiha clan."

Silence followed. The view in the ball slowly moved, shifting it's focus from the black-haired boy to the blonde-haired boy still sitting on the floor. A silver-haired jounin spoke next. "Uzumaki Naruto, eh?"

xxxxXxxxx

Sasuke sat still. Very still. In fact, other than raising his head every so often, he hadn't moved all day. But for some reason, all the girls in the class suddenly wanted to sit next to him. _/How annoying. Eh, better than that idiot Naruto./_

All at once, he opened his eyes to find that very idiot about 2 inches away from his face. Just staring._ /God, his breath stinks. What did he have for breakfast/_ Naruto's eyes were narrowed to slits, his gaze unmistakably hostile. The Uchiha boy met the stare with one of his own, tension mounting like electricity between the two.

_/Everyone's so obsessed with Sasuke. What's so great about him, anyway/_ Naruto thought.

**/Maybe it's because he's better than you./**

Huh?

At that moment, one of the students sitting right in front of them decided to swing his arm backwards, hitting Naruto's legs. This, combined with a voice in his head that was NOT his, caused him to lose balance and... well, fall forward...

...into the waiting lips of his rival.

All life stopped. No one said a word. No one breathed. Both the guys and girls could only stare, utterly stunned. Speechless. At least, physically.

Inner Sakura: _/Damn it! I was supposed to get Sasuke-kun's first kiss/_

The boys seperated very quickly, choking and gagging. Trying vainly to get that _taste_ out of their mouths. "Naruto, I'm going to kill you..." Sasuke choked out.

"My mouth's going to rot..." the blonde wheezed. He stopped short, though, then looked up, saying "I sense danger."

Well, duh. You see, while the guys sat and laughed, the girls... they all had a murderous look in their eyes. _All_ of them. Naruto suddenly wondered if he'd make it to the actual explanation part of this meeting.

xxxxXxxxx

Iruka-sensei was now busy explaining something-or-other. All about this-and-that. Naruto was paying very little attention, due to the severe pain in his head. At least he knew the cause this time. He glanced over at Sakura-chan, thinking _/That's probably MY blood on HER knuckles. Sheesh./_

**/Beat up by a girl. Tsk, Tsk. How sad.../**

Okay, what the hell? This was the second time Naruto had heard someone, and it wasn't out loud, or else the rest of the class would be looking around for it as well. He'd be looking himself if he wasn't so sore.

In any case, Iruka-sensei was finally getting to the good part. "Next, 7th group. Uzumaki Naruto."

The blonde was paying attention now.

"Haruno Sakura."

This brought a cheer from Naruto and a sad sigh from Sakura. "I'm with Naruto...?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

_This_ brought a cheer from Sakura and a sad sigh from Naruto. "I'm with Sasuke...?"

Hinata looked down at him, disappointed. _/So, I'm in a different group than Naruto-kun.../_

The rest of the teams were called out from there. The 8th group had Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. The 10th group had Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Naruto tuned the rest of them out entirely. _/I'm with Sasuke? I'm with ...Sasuke? I'm with Sakura! But I'm with ...Sasuke/_ Even when the class was dismissed, he walked out in a daze. _/Why ...Sasuke/_ He walked around, not even saying anything. He completely ignored his new teammates; one followed the other around, trying to get him to eat with her.

However, he quickly snapped out of it when his stomach made some noises that it really shouldn't have. Worse than the usual gurgle. Then it shrank into a little, tiny ball and started throbbing. Oh, God. This was not good. He started running, heading strait for the men's room. _/There better not be a line/_

For the next hour and a half, Naruto was stuck in the bathroom ...in severe pain.

xxxxXxxxx

The silver-haired jounin and the Hokage stood together once again, only this time, they were inside Naruto's home. "So, this is Naruto's house, eh?" He said, staring out the window.

"Yes. Uchiha Sasuke will also be in your group." The elder of the two men spoke quietly, yet calmly. "I wish you luck."

The taller shinobi picked up the carton of milk still siting on the table and looked at it. After some examination, he said "This milk expired a while ago. He's going to get a stomachache if he drinks this."

* * *

Okay. Wow, this story is much easier than the last one, 'cause I'm only changing little bits of the story. They'll lead up to something different, though. Trust me.

R&R! Do it!** I know where you live!**


	4. Kakashi

Well, I've had mixed responses about this fic, mostly good. I'll tell you all now that any pairings in the near/distant future will totally depend on how the story progresses. Oh, and to , your comment about the voices in Naruto's head were only half right.

(note: when you see **name: "words" **that's a direct quote.)

DISCLAIMER: See chapter 1.

* * *

POMF!

Kakashi, the new instructor for Team 7, now had a large amount of chalk dust in his hair. He had only just stuck his head in the door, trying to say hi, when this happens. _/What have I gotten myself into/_ Quietly, he opened the door all the way and picked up the eraser that had hit him. _/Wedged in the door. How childish. But then, they are just kids./_

The shinobi looked up, scanning the other occupants of the room. Sakura was standing in the front of the room with a combined look of suprise and embarrasment. Sasuke was _still_ sitting in the exact spot he was in during the first meeting. "Weren't there three of you? Where's Naruto?"

This caught Sakura by suprise. She looked around the room, a slight worry in her voice. "Huh? But he was right ...wasn't he just...?" As she looked back at her new sensei, her eyes widened and a look of fear washed over her face. The eraser that Kakashi had just put away was ..._floating_. Almost as if someone was picking it up. But ..._there was no one there!_

In the next instant, it shot like a rocket for the back of Kakashi's silver-haired head. The jounin, however, had had enough chalk in his hair for today, so he simply moved his head to the side. The eraser flew right past it's intended target ...and struck a different one.

Sasuke's face had finally changed it's expression for the first time in hours. It's kinda hard not to when a loaded chalkboard eraser smacks it dead center. The black-haired ninja now had the look of extreme annoyance. _/Oh, ...he's dead./_

That was just too much. Naruto finally reappeared, clutching his gut, laughing in tears. It was funny enough when their so-called sensei fell prey to the oldest prank in the book, but for the next one to work out so _perfectly_... the blonde didn't stop laughing for some time. He was having such a good time that the other two couldn't help but chuckle.

xxxxXxxxx

The four of them moved up to the roof of the building, which had a number of trees growing there. There, they had a brief series of introductions.

Kakashi: "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future, eh? Hmmm..." He paused. "Well, I have lots of hobbies..."

Naruto: "Me, me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Cup Ramen! What I like even more is the ramen from the Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought me. What I dislike is waiting the three minutes for the Cup Ramen to cook. My hobby is eating tons of Cup Ramen! And my dream for the future..." He stopped to adjust his forehead protector. "Is to surpass Hokage! And then have all the people of this village acknowledge my existence!"

Sakura: "I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like is... well... The person I like is..." She glanced at Sasuke. "And my hobbies are..." Another glance at Sasuke. "Well, my dream for the future is..." This time, she looked and then shrieked like a little girl.

"And? What you dislike?"

"...It's Naruto."

Obviously, the blonde didn't take this too well. Kakashi just sighed. _/Girls of this age are more interested in love than ninjutsu./_

Sasuke: "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything." A dark, intense look came into his eyes. "And... I don't want to use the word 'dream,' but... I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan, and... definitely to kill a certain man."

Silence settled over the team. No one was quite sure _what_ to think. _/He'd better not mean me.../_ Naruto thought. This was something that neither Naruto nor Sakura had imagined the dark haired boy would say. Neither of them knew just _why _he would say that, either...

**/...what's Cup Ramen/**

Naruto let out a sharp yelp and jumped backwards. _/What the... not again/_ He looked around the rooftop, trying to spot someone that might be spying on him. The panicked genin also checked himself for anything that might have been planted. ...Nothing. They were alone; he was clean. Then what the heck...?

"Are you done?" Kakashi and the others were staring at him like he was crazy. "I was just about to tell you that we start our missions tomorrow."

Back to reality. "Aye! What kind of mission?" Naruto eagarly asked.

"First, we'll do something that can be done with just the four of us."

"What what what what?" Naruto couldn't contain himself. "What?"

"..._Survival training_." The silver-haired jounin then explained that this wasn't going to be normal training. "You see, of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy." He had a deadly serious expression. "So this test is a highly difficult test with a failure rate of over 66 percent." The team was then instructed to meet on the training field at 5 a.m. and to bring all their shinobi equipment. And lastly, they were not to eat breakfast ...or they'd just throw it up.

xxxxXxxxx

And so the morning came. At least, it was on it's way. The three rookies of Team 7 wobbled into the appointed area at 5 a.m., which happened to be before the sun. Gee.

They all hoped that Kakashi's earlier tardiness was just a one-time thing. They waited. Naruto had sat down and was drifting between sleep and awake. Still they waited. The sun had risen and was traveling patiently across the sky. They kept waiting, not saying a word.

After several hours, a familliar silver head appeared. "Hey, guys. Good morning!"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto screamed together.

"Sorry." He grinned behind his mask, pointing behind him. "You see, a black cat crossed my path, and..." He stopped, seeing that they weren't buying it. "-Ahem- Oh well..."

He trotted over to a nearby stump, on which sat an alarm clock. He pressed the big button on top, saying "Okay, it's set for noon." They all took note of the fact that the clock read 11:07 a.m. The jounin then held up two small bells. "Your task for today is to take these two bells from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell before noon get no lunch!" Sakura gasped. "I'll not only tie you to one of those posts," he pointed to the stump, and the other two on either side of it, "but I'll eat right in front of you."

All three stomachs let out a loud growl. They had all skipped breakfast, as ordered, and had all waited for 6 hours. Even Sasuke, who usually hid his emotions well, couldn't hide his own 'Aw, crap' look. This man was evil. Pure and simple.

Sakura spoke up next. "But, wait a minute. Why are there only two bells?"

Kakashi only grinned. "Because there are two, one of you will definitely be tied to a post. And that person fails."

He said a few other things after that, but Naruto wasn't paying much attention. He was already planning how to nab a bell. _/Oh, this is too easy. I'll just become invisible and yank them both when he's not looking.../_

**/Like in the classroom? He heard you coming a _mile _away./**

This time, the blonde didn't react with suprise, but understanding. The jounin _did _avoid the eraser, and _that _was flying through thin air. There's no way he'd miss something tromping through the grass behind him. Well, ...on to plan B.

**/Uh-uh. _You've done enough_./**

A dull pain entered Naruto's head. Not severe, not even sharp, but dull and steady. This pain spread it's way down his body until everything ached. The world around the blonde grew darker and quieter. Almost as if he was losing control of his vision and hearing. Everything tuned down, grew darker, slowly fading away into nothing. As soon as Naruto's world went black, as soon as normal thoughts and processes stopped...

...His eyes opened. No one else seemed to notice that his body had slumped for just a second, then stood up straight again. His lungs inhaled deeply, yet quietly, as a life that hadn't breathed for countless decades took it's first breath of fresh air. His eyes took in every color. His nose, every smell. All the nerves in his flesh tingled as a breeze drifted by. Time seemed to hold still for the first minute of a revived existence. Oh, how he had missed being alive!

His attention returned when Kakashi gave the signal. "Ready... Start!" All three ninja vanished, running to their respective hiding places.

The test had begun.

* * *

Now we're getting to the good parts! I know that not much was explained here, but that wasn't the point of this chapter. So there. R&R, peoples! 


	5. Suspicion

After reading your reviews, I realized that just about every clue in the previous chapters point to Kyuubi as the one that has taken over Naruto. This is not so. I actually had an OC in mind when I wrote this story. I'll clarify with this chapter, don't worry.

NOTE: I forgot the term for a jutsu written on a piece of paper, so I'll just avoid that word.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Sondaime?"

The leader of Konoha village was resting against the railing that surrounded his private garden, on the roof of his office building. He was looking out over the village, quietly taking in the sight of everything at peace. Knowing that peace could be gone in an instant, if he or his shinobi followers ever failed to protect the villagers. To protect them from the unknown. He glanced behind him, and said "Yes, Iruka. ...Come over here." He motioned for the younger man to stand next to him.

Iruka reluctantly came up next to his elder, leaning against the railing himself and marveling at the view from here. "I actually wanted to talk to you, also. It's about the jounin instructor for Naruto's Team 7."

"You mean, Kakashi?"

"Yes." The younger man paused, considering how he should say this. "What kind of person is he? Is he strict?"

The Hokage only grinned. "You're worried, aren't you?"

"Well, I've heard some distressing rumors..."

The old man reached into his robe and pulled out a book labeled 'The Way of the Ninja: Jounin Instructors.' Handing it to Iruka, he said "This is a list of the Genins assigned to Kakashi up to this point."

The dark-haired ninja took the book and began thumbing through the pages. He then stopped on Kakashi's page, glancing over the names ...and they were all _zeros_. "This can't be..."

"Kakashi hasn't passed a single person. All have failed. But I can tell you that, after reviewing each case, every one of them recieved the score they deserved." After that, both men fell silent. Iruka only stared at the list for a few minutes, ...and there were a _lot _of names..., then closed the book and gave it back.

Finally, the Third spoke up. "Iruka, ...have you noticed anything different about Naruto since the incident with the scroll?"

"No. He seemed just as energetic and carefree as always. He _did _show me a new technique he had learned, but nothing else... Why do you ask?"

The old man was silent, thinking. Almost in a whisper, he said "Something happened to him, just before you found him asleep in that clearing. When he read the last few lines of the Scroll of Seals, ...it was as if the scroll had come to life. It was giving off tremendous amounts of Chakra."

Iruka looked at the old man, eyes wide. He had heard of this kind of thing. There was a certain kind of jutsu that worked by reading words written on paper. Iruka himself had made several of these jutsus. Once activated, they had the same kind of reaction that the Hokage had just described. When the old man met Iruka's gaze, it became obvious that the Third had thought about the exact same thing. "So, it was a written jutsu?"

"Yes. When Naruto activated it, he was hit with a wave of Chakra from the scroll itself... It was this wave that knocked him out."

Iruka sighed, relaxing his shoulders and face. "So, it was just a sleep jutsu. Nothing to worry about..."

"No." The Third turned to face the younger man. "It's more than that. I looked over the scroll myself, and found that there was another jutsu written _throughout the entire scroll._ ...It was a forbidden summoning techinique. One not used to summon living creatures to our world, ...but to summon the _dead_."

xxxxXxxxx

It was just after 11:00 in the morning. This time of day was just beautiful for enjoying nature. The wind blew lightly through the trees; small creatures scampered through the branches; a nearby stream flowed by, just as it had for many years. A tall, silver-haired man stood in a clearing within the forest, not moving. He was focusing on his surroundings. He was not here to enjoy nature, however. The tranquility of the forest was hiding his true objectives.

_/The basics of being a Ninja are erasing your presence and hiding yourself well. /_ This was a commonly known fact among the shinobi, and apparently, to his three new students as well. His senses were enhanced to several times that of a normal person, yet he was unable to spot them. _/Good, they're all concealed well. /_

Sasuke sat on a branch, about midway up the trunk of a good-sized tree. This was an ideal spot, because he could keep an eye on his sensei without giving himself away. Sakura had chosen the low ground, hiding herself underneath a thick bush. Both ninja waited for some opening that they could take advantage of. Some way for them to sneak in and grab one of those bells. Their growling stomachs gave them all the motivation they needed to pay attention.

Out of nowhere, something came crashing down from a tree on the other side of the clearing. Branches snapped, leaves rustled, and someone grunted in pain; they were making all the noise in the world. A familliar blonde head came into view. "Ow..." Naruto slowly stood up, brushing his clothes off and rubbing his head. "Okay, ...I'm not doing _that_ again."

Kakashi was ...a little suprised. "Um... that's not quite right." Ninja weren't supposed to just ...fall out of their hiding places.

Naruto brushed the last of the leaves off of his jacket and shrugged "Whatever." He then began his attack, running strait at Kakashi, who in turn was just standing there, waiting. Slowly, the jounin reached his hand into a pouch at his waist. Seeing this, the blonde stopped, waiting for his opponent to attack first.

"First, I'll teach you about Taijutsu." He began to take out the object in the pouch.

A confused look came over Naruto's face. "Wait, ...Taijutsu is hand-to-hand combat, right? And you're gonna use a weapon?"

Kakashi didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out his prized possesion, a magazine titled 'Come Come Paradise.' The look on Naruto's face went from confusion to what-the-hell? He stood still for a few seconds, trying to process this.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and come at me."

"But, ...why are you reading a book?"

Without looking up from his reading, he answered "Oh, this? ...I want to know what happens next."

Naruto still wasn't sure about this. "O-o-o-o-kay. Have it your way." He charged again, leaping into the air to deliver a punch to the jounin's head. Without even blinking, Kakashi blocked the blow. Naruto dropped down, swinging his left leg around in a roundhouse kick. The elder man easily ducked. One last time, the blonde sent his fist at the taller man's head. That head vanished just before he made contact. Naruto now had a stunned look. To anyone else, this was the look that said 'I can't believe how fast Kakashi is!'

The jounin was now squatted down behind Naruto, his hands clasped together in the shape of the Seal of the Tiger: the first two fingers of both hands extended and put together, with the rest of the hands folded around his book. "A Ninja isn't supposed to get caught from behind over and over, idiot."

The next attack was one that no one who witnessed it will ever forget. Kakashi lunged his hands forward, saying "Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique!" Then came the most ...unique feeling Naruto had ever experienced. "_ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!_" Naruto had just recieved four fingers shoved up his backside at once, and was now flying through the air. He landed face-first in the stream.

Sasuke and Sakura had seen the entire thing. Both of them had lost a lot of respect for their instructor.

Naruto, meanwhile, was all wet. **_/This is strange. I had no idea the kid's body was this slow. ...Oh, well. If one won't work... /_**

Kakashi stood on the shore of the stream, still reading, as Naruto climbed out. "What's wrong? If you don't get a bell before noon, you get no lunch."

The blonde appeared to ignore him, focusing instead on getting the excess water off of himself. His actions caused Kakashi to look up from his reading, trying to figure out why Naruto, the Number One Loud-Mouth Ninja of Konoha, was acting so calm and collected. He knew good and well that if he didn't get a bell, he wouldn't eat, and taking food from _Naruto _was usually a dangerous activity. But for some reason...

Several splashes caught the jounin's attention. He looked up to find _seven_ Narutos in mid-leap from under the water. _/Bunshin/_ As the multiple Narutos landed and charged, the jounin saw that each one moved individually, making physical contact with the ground with every step. _/No ...Kage Bunshin. The forbidden jutsu he defeated Mizuki with. /_ All seven Narutos had surrounded Kakashi, ready to fight. "With your ability, about one minute is probably your limit with this jutsu. No matter how many you line up, you're still just Naruto. ...You can't beat me with this jutsu yet."

No sooner had he finished saying this, then he was suddenly unable to move. The jounin had been caught from behind! But when he looked around to his back, ...there was nobody! _/Now I feel stupid. He can become invisible. He even showed me this back in the classroom, and I forgot about it completely/_ The original Naruto reappeared behind him, holding the jounin with a powerful binding move.

"Weren't Ninjas not supposed to get caught from behind, Kakashi-sensei?" Of course. Kakashi had been so distracted by the seven clones from the water that he had missed the one that had climbed out _first_.

_/And here I thought it was _my _job to point out _his _mistakes/_ Kakashi was looking back at the Naruto that was holding him, and he was able to notice something that he had missed up until now. When he first saw Naruto in their classroom, as well as in the introductions, the blonde's eyes were always wide, smiling, and a dark blue in color; the kind that were still too innocent to know the hardships of life. The eyes he now saw were different. Almost like they belonged to someone else. Naruto's eyes were now much narrower, thinner; they resembled the eyes of many battle-hardened ninja he himself had fought on a number of occasions. Also, the color had faded from dark blue to a lighter blue, almost an ice-blue. As strange as it was to imagine, Kakashi was certain that _something _was not quite right with this boy.

xxxxXxxxx

"Summoning ...the _dead_?"

"Normally, to use a summoning jutsu, the ninja must have signed a contract in blood so that the jutsu would work. However, no contract is needed to summon the dead. It is a technique that's obviously considered forbidden." The Third was still looking out over the village, a look of concern on his wrinkled face.

"But, when I got there, Naruto was alone. There was no sign that anyone, nor anything, had been there with him." Iruka had arrived at the clearing a few hours after sunrise. He found a sleeping Naruto as well as the Scroll of Seals sitting next to him. He managed to bring both back without drawing too much attention to himself, and there was nothing more.

"I know. But _something_ was summoned." The old man paused. "During the actual summoning, the Chakra wave hit Naruto's eyes."

Both men fell silent. They both knew that the eyes were the vital points of almost everybody. A summoning jutsu, a wave of Chakra to the eyes, nothing and no one appearing beside him... Something, or _someone_, that was once dead had been brought back to life, ...within Naruto.

* * *

Well, I hope that cleared up the confusion about Kyuubi. Now we know that the Nine Tails is **not** the force that has taken over Naruto. I will further clarify about this dead guy in later chapters, but rest assured, **he's not Kyuubi.**

R&R!

...please?


	6. POV Naruto

Whew! Response has been overwhelming to the story thus far, and I only hope I can keep your attention to the end of the story. I appreciate everyone giving their reviews and opinions, and while I'm sure most of you will like how it develops, others won't, ...no matter how I write it.

On a side note: _many_ of you have assumed that it was one of the previous Hokages that was summoned. While that would be kind of fun, I'm gonna stick to using an OC, mainly because an OC can act any way I want him to, while a Hokage is supposed to act like ...well, a Hokage. That, and they have specific jutsus that I don't know about. Also, this chapter is gonna be in journal format, because I just _can't _think of any other way to do it.

Here we go...

* * *

**_OOOOOOXXX _**FROM THE JOURNAL OF **UZUMAKI NARUTO**** _XXXOOOOOO_**

This past week has been ...oh, what's the word? _Freakin' weird_ fits.

How do I start? I guess it all started with Mizuki-sensei telling me about the Scroll of Seals, and how if I could show one of it's forbidden jutus to Iruka-sensei, that I would graduate. Well, that all went to hell. I showed him one, but before he decided on anything, Mizuki-sensei told me about the NIne Tails Demon Fox. About how _I am_ the Kyuubi. But enough about that. I don't want to talk about it.

Where was I? Oh, yes. I finally graduated and was put in the same group as Sakura-chan! That would have been the best day of my life, except that Sasuke ended up in our group as well. ...Why the hell couldn't he be in another group, with other girls that obsess over him? That guy's a freakin' jerk. I hate him, he hates me.

Some team.

We also met our jounin instructor who, as far as I can tell, is the worst one. He doesn't tell us anything about himself, then he goes and makes us take some dumb test when we're absolutely _starving_. And the loser loses... lunch.

That's when things got weird. All of a sudden, I felt like my body was shutting down. Like everything was losing connection with my brain. Then, just as quickly as it left, it came back. I could see, I could move... well, no, **_I_** couldn't move... For some reason, my body was moving by itself. Like someone else had taken the controls away. Which was, in fact, what had happened. Apparently, when I had finished reading the scroll, the one mentioned earlier, a summoning jutsu was activated, ...one that put a dead guy's soul into my body. I only know this because _he told me._ Yes, he talks to me in my head. Always at the wrong time, too.

Not only did he tell me how he ended up in my head, but he also told me a little about himself. His name is ...was... **Senshi**; Ishida Senshi. He had been dead for quite some time, though he didn't know exactly how long. You can't keep track of time very well when you're _dead_. He _did_ remember, though, that he was one of many early shinobi that helped in writing the Scroll of Seals. Himself, along with a few kages from the early villages, wrote the whole thing. He mentioned the First Hokage by name, if that means anything. Other than that, Senshi would only say that he excelled in Taijutsu over Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, but he would often use Ninjutsu when he felt like it.

Anyway, back to the test. With Senshi in control of my body, it hid in a nearby tree. I would have just stood and demanded a fight, myself, but I didn't have any choice. The hiding would have been fine if the klutz would only watch his footing. I swear, with the noise I made coming down out of that tree, I would have woken up the whole village. Somehow, he got us back up and we started fighting Kakashi. Again, I could only watch, but he made me attack, and Kakashi dodged, blocked, and generally made me look like a fool. Especially with that stupid One Thousand Years of Pain technique. ...That was the only time that I was glad for Senshi's interference. _He_ felt it. _I_ did not. Hee hee.

Once I was knocked in the water, I heard him think something about how slow I was. Like he had room to talk. How much faster could _he _have been, after all? Well, he pulled a Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and just when it looked like he'd get a decent hit in...

...Kakashi did it again. He grabbed me off of his back and _hurled_ me into my clones. Obviously, he had had enough, so he activated the invisiblilty at the _same instant_ that the clones disappeared. Then, by holding still, he managed to fool Kakashi into thinking that they were _all _clones, and that the real me was still hiding somewhere. To do this,he had to hold mestill for a long time. Even watching, I could tell that this wasn't easy. Invisibility used up a lot of Chakra. Fortunately, a noise in the bushes drew his attention, and he left.

At this point, Senshi released his control on my body, and I could move again. Then I found out why. My body was almost _completely _out of Chakra, and I was exhausted. So I just lay there, on the ground, staring up at the sky while Sakura and Sasuke fended for themselves. This was when Senshi told me about himself.

When I finally got enough energy back to move, I noticed something behind a large boulder near the edge of the clearing. ...Lunches! Two of them! If I had learned anything from losing control of my body to a dead guy, it was that I missed doing what _I_ really wanted to do. So, without further ado, I sat down to eat. Then, a shadow fell over me.

...Busted by Kakashi-sensei. This day just keeps getting better and better.

What followed was a lecture about teamwork and how we weren't even close to becoming ninjas. And some other stuff. Yadda yadda. All the while, I was tied to the pole. In short, Kakashi informed us that he would give us _one_ more chance to get a bell, but it would be after lunch. And it would be a lot harder than what we just did. Jeez.

I have learned something about torture. When you haven't eaten in more than 12 hours, and then get tied to a pole while your teammates eat in front of you... that's just evil. Oh, and they ate. I hoped Sasuke choked on his. Apparently, if either of them fed me, we'd all fail. Well, I don't know how loudly I would have complained, but my empty stomach started eating _itself_, and that made all the noise I needed to make.

And then, ...Sasuke did something that suprised all of us. He held his tray of food up to me. Basically, he said that if I didn't have any strength, I'd just get in his way next time. Besides, he didn't sense Kakashi-sensei anywhere nearby. Something about us getting the bells together. But that didn't blow me away as much as Sakura-chan doing the same thing! For a moment, it actually seemed like she cared about me!

That's when it all went to hell. Kakashi _exploded _out of the trees, right in front of us! He'd been there the whole time! Oh, God... he couldn't have looked any more frightening than right then. I don't remember too many details, but we all said something about being a three-man team, and that it would do no good for one or two of us to fail. Next thing I know... "You pass!"

Well, that's about all I have to write about. It's been about a month or so since then, and Team 7 has been doing small, out-of-the-way, pieces-of-crap missions. I've been holding my tounge almost the entire time. I'm kinda disappointed, too... I haven't had the chance to use any of my new techniques since I learned them. I only hope I don't forget any of them.

Senshi has been 'coaching' me through my training, giving me tips on how to move better, and how to better manage my Chakra, as well as influence my growth personally (or so he says). He hasn't taken control again since the test, ...he's been focused on pushing the limits that my body can reach. And while he hasn't told me, I think he plans on taking control again before too long. God knows when _that's _gonna happen.

Well, I gotta go. The team's being called into Hokage's office for our next mission. That, and this old, fat guy keeps bugging me. I don't know what he's drinkin', but I thought booze wasn't allowed in the waiting room, here. Oh, well. I doubt I'll ever see him again, anyway.

**OOOOOOXXXXXXOOOOOO**

* * *

Yes, I know it's shorter than the others, but it's the only way I could think of to spit out this part of the story. At least, to make it work. And I _know_ that I went back to summarizing everything, but this is in journal-entry format, so what amI gonna do?

For those who want to know, the word **Senshi** translates into **Warrior.** And, the old man at the end is probably who you think he is. So you should know what's coming in the next chapter.

**R&R!**


	7. Demon Brothers

Alrighty, then! Much gratitude to all who reviewed. Thank you so much. Without further ado, back to the story...

* * *

The old man was introduced as Tazuna, the bridge-building expert. Team 7 was to escort him back to his country and guard him while he finished his bridge. Heck, anything was better than the babysitting-shopping-digging missions they almost went on. If it wasn't for Naruto opening his mouth about it, that's _exactly_ what they would've been doing right now. 

It was during the warmest part of the afternoon that Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and the old man Tazuna were walking down the main path through the forest, heading for the docks at the country's shoreline. It was a long trail, so they all had plenty of time to talk amongst themselves. Tazuna acknowledged that he was from Wave Country, and Kakashi explained that they didn't even _have_ ninja there. It was too small. Then came a long-winded explanation about the five major countries of fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth, as well as their hidden villages; Leaf, Mist, Cloud, Rock, and Sand. Among other things.

Afterwards, the five travelers walked in silence. At least a full hour went by and not one of them said a word. Kakashi caught himself staring at Naruto more than once. _/Ever since that first training mission, he's been acting normally. I haven't sensed anything unusual from him... Oh, well. With any luck, it was just a fluke. Nothing worth remembering.../ _But he remembered the eyes. Oh, yes. To a shinobi that carried _his_ particular ...'advantage', eyes were the measure of his opponents. They were what told him about every important aspect of the individual. In most everyone, they told all. But not these eyes... The jounin still wasn't quite sure just _what _it was about them, but he couldn't get them off his mind. And that could be a dangerous distraction.

Sasuke was being quiet for a different reason. He was still stinging from his humiliating defeat at the hands of his instructor. Over and over again, he played it back in his mind, trying to figure out what he could have done differently. He sprung that trap just like he planned, and he _almost_ managed to grab one of the bells by forcing the jounin to use both his hands in blocking, while _he_ still had one free. But even that didn't work. Finally, he pulled out his 'trump' card, and used the Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu. He could tell that he had caught the older man off guard, but the bastard still topped him. He used Doton Shinjuuzanshu no Jutsu and pulled the Uchiha underneath the ground, leaving only his head above the surface. It had taken the black-haired shinobi a total of 9 hours to get all the sand and dirt out of his clothes after that.

Even though she really didn't do any fighting, Sakura had her own bad memories from that test. She'd been hit with one of Kakashi's Genjutsu early on, which caused her to see Sasuke as a broken, bleeding rag doll. The kunoichi had been able to force that memory from her head ever since, much to her own relief.

They continued on for another few miles, passing a lone puddle of water in the shade of one of the trees. Once they were a good distance away from it, however, a pair of dark ninjas rose out of it, as if they were _made _of it. Both had long, raggedy black hair, and both wore the same type of masks over their faces. They were dressed in black, with outer garments covering intricate armor and weapons underneath. And both shinobi wore personalized forehead protectors, each with the same insignia in the center; four wavy lines, arranged in a square pattern. Ninjas of the Mist village.

Their attack speed was incredible. The first ninja hurled his partner a good distance, landing right next to the stunned group of travelers. A barbed chain was drawn between them, and with lightning speed, they managed to wrap it around Kakashi. Then, with a single pull, the chain appeared to, literally, _rip the Jounin to shreds. _"First one."

To say the least, none of them knew what to do. The only one who had been in a real battle before was now in many pieces on the ground. Sakura stepped back, a look of terror all across her face. Naruto stepped forward, still unable to believe what he had just seen. "Kakashi-sensei!" It couldn't be... of all people who should've seen that one coming...

Any and all thoughts ceased in the next instant. The two assasins had appeared directly behind Naruto. "Second one." And the blonde just froze. He had thought that he would do better in his first real battle, but now that he was _here_, ...well, it was not what he expected. He could hear the sound of the massive chain as it sliced through the air, coming to take him the same way it had taken his sensei. He could hear the hiss from the masks. Time seemed to stand still, ...and for only the second time in recent memory, Naruto's world faded into darkness.

Sasuke, seeing his opening, leapt into action. He pulled a shuriken and a kunai, together, and threw the shuriken first. The weapon hit the chain in midair, pining it to a tree. The kunai followed, acting as a nail to fasten the smaller weapon down. The chain was rendered useless. Both assasins stared at the trap for only a few seconds, trying to process this. Then, even while Sasuke was still in the air from his jump, ..._something_ moved. In a flash, one attacker had been knocked away by a savage punch to the face, and the other recieved a foot strait to his gut, knocking him slightly upwards; and whatever had hit them had moved fast enough to cause a small cloud of dust to form.

The first shinobi stood back up, holding his face where the mask had been knocked off. Realizing that he was now up against someone he couldn't see, he jumped up out of the cloud. In the air, he saw the old man, then landed and renewed his attack. The other ninja did the same; their primary objective was the old man. In the next instant, the pair had dashed over to charge their target from both sides. Poor Sakura had no idea which one to guard against first. Sasuke had landed in the dust cloud and still had not emerged. It looked like the end.

That was when Naruto burst out of the dust cloud. He ran at a speed that surpassed the attackers', allowing him to easily catch up. He landed a kick to the ribs of the closest assasin, sending him flying up and over, then he dashed around the trembling two, grabbed the second assasin by one arm, and used the momentum to swing him around so that he connected with his partner in midair. The sound of cracking bones was clearly heard.

Now, keep in mind that, from start to finish, this scene occured in about 15 seconds.

The attackers were now crumpled up in a pile in the middle of the clearing. Sasuke was still standing where the dust cloud had long since passed on, while Sakura and Tazuna stood in the same place as when the whole thing started. All of them gaped, stunned, at the blonde boy who was hunched over, breathing hard from his sudden exhersion.

**/That's _much_ better. This body's not _nearly _as slow _or _weak as it used to be.../**

Ever since the first test, the spirit of Senshi had made it a point to leave Naruto to fend for himself in his missions. All he did was assist in the development of the muscles and nerves, thereby increasing both physical strength and response time. After all, he _did _prefer hand-to-hand combat. He only interferred _this_ time because the boy froze up, and would have died otherwise.

"Impressive." A familliar silver head emerged from the trees. "Looks like the Uchiha has a decent rival."

Sakura gasped, "Kakashi-sensei? But we thought that you were..." She found herself unable to finish her sentence.

Sasuke shook himself awake, then looked over at where Kakashi's 'remains' had landed. What lay in the grass were several slices of a log. "He used the replacement technique."

The Jounin slowly walked over to Naruto. Without a word, he looked into the boy's eyes. Yep... they were back. Once again, Naruto's eyes were narrowed and harsh, not to mention a lighter blue. _/Just what _is_ this?.../_ He made a mental note to bring this matter to the attention of the Third when they got back.

xxxxXxxxx

About two hours later, the shinobi had loaded onto their boat and began heading towards the Wave Country. This time, the silence between them was more akward than anything. After the attack, Kakashi discussed a few things with Tazuna, revealing that things would get much more complicated, now that he knew the old man was being targeted by ninja. This was not part of his contract, after all. Mostly, though, they were all kind of ..._afraid _to bring up Naruto's little outburst.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was having his own private battle. _/A decent rival? HIM! That's not possible! How could he, 'dead-last', suddenly become Super Ninja! **GAAH**! First Kakashi-sensei makes a total fool out of me, ...now the village idiot is showing me up! What the Hell? **I'm **the one who's supposed to become stronger, not him! **I'm** the one everyone calls the 'prodigy', not him! .../ _The Uchiha sat in the boat, holding his head. _/This just can't be happening. .../_ He looked over at the blonde sitting at the front of the craft. _/...How did he _do_ that, anyway? He's gone through the exact same training and missions as the rest of us... Unless... he's secretly training himself.../ _Sasuke sighed and leaned back, trying to put it out of his mind. He glanced over one more time at his new 'rival.' _/I will **not** lose to you, Naruto.../  
_

* * *

Well, that was fun. Now we see that Senshi's presence is making a difference, and it's starting to take it's toll on Sasuke. Looks like the tables have turned, ne? And yes, I do remember about Kyuubi. Trust me, he **will** make an appearance before this story ends. ;)

Please read & review! I can't finish without reviews!


	8. Zabuza 1

Okay, I'm back. I took note of your reviews and shall address them when possible. Oh, and to whoever described Senshi and Kyuubi playing poker through the cage bars, I totally agree! And, I'll try to make this chapter as long as I can.

On a side note: Instead of swearing to never have to be saved again, Naruto swore, -in his own mind, at least- to reach a level of strength where Senshi would not have to take over every time to save him. I'm telling you this now because I have no intention of mentioning it in the story.

* * *

Team 7, along with their charge, now found themselves in a thick fog. Except for the sounds of the waves against the side of the boat, all was silent. Another person was steering the boat from the rear, using an oar while keeping the outboard motor silent. Tazuna sat next to the driver, keeping his head low. Next to him sat Kakashi, then Sasuke, then Sakura, and Naruto sat at the front, staring into the pea soup. 

The driver was the first to speak since entering the fog. "We should see the bridge soon." Indeed, within a minute, a massive shape emerged from the dense fog. It was a large bridge, well-built for being only half done. It was a structure that most likely looked normal, if not boring, in the daylight, ...but in the fog and silence, it had an ominous feel.

Naruto sat still in his seat. Behind him, Kakashi-sensei spoke with the old man about the ones who were after him. The blonde didn't catch most of it, but he _did _hear Tazuna admit that a 'super-dangerous' man was after his life. Some guy named Gatou. At this point, Naruto tuned out the conversation, thinking back on the earlier battle, instead. He was well aware that he had gone through the exact same training as Sasuke and Sakura, yet ...Senshi was able to make him do _that_... Naruto just couldn't think of any reason for his body to have developed as far as it had in so short a time. But he didn't dwell on it too long. After all, he finally had something to hold over Sasuke! He could fight when Sasuke was lost in a cloud of dust! The blonde just grinned to himself every time he thought about it.

**/Don't get cocky.../**

_/Oh, shut up! .../_ Of all the things Senshi did, butting into Naruto's private thoughts was the most annoying. True, he _did _come in handy every so often.

Naruto took a moment to look back at his teammates, and the first thing he saw was a pair of black eyes glaring at him from halfway down the boat. They closed a moment later. Apparently Sasuke was remembering the earlier battle, too. It would probably be a long while before he got over it.

A few minutes later, they reached a series of tunnels, all leading into the main port of Wave Country. Inside, the mist was gone, and the sun shone bright. All throughout the water stood trees, the roots of which held the foliage up out of the water. Buildings and shops surrounded the ports. All in all, it was a peaceful scene. From here, they all disembarked, watching as the driver of the boat pulled away, fired up the motor, and took off. Now, all they had to do was get the old man home. Thrills.

xxxxXxxxx

Which was how they found themselves walking through _another_ forest, one that was smaller yet still just like the one back home. More than one of the members of Team 7 began thinking about this when a whooshing sound drew their attention. "Everyone, get down!" Kakashi yelled.

A massive spinning blade, several feet long, flew out of the nearby treetops, sailed low over their heads, and embedded itself in a tree trunk. They looked up in time to see a shinobi land lightly on the handle, his back facing the group. His face was half covered in bandages, and he wore his forehead protector sideways; the symbol of the Mist Village was clearly visible in the afternoon light. He glared back at the travelers over his shoulder, his gaze passing from person to person, stopping at Kakashi.

The silver-haired jounin spoke first. "Well, well. If it isn't the Hidden Mist's Missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi gave a half-smile under his mask. He looked back at his three Genin, noticing that Sasuke was reaching into his pack to pull out a weapon. "You three stay out of this. Surround and protect Tazuna. This guy's on a whole other level." Slowly, deliberately, he reached up to his own forehead protector, to the side that was always down over his left eye. "It will be a little tough unless I do this..."

"You appear to be Sharingan Kakashi." Zabuza spoke his first words to them.

_/Sharingan! What?.../_ Sasuke was suddenly very suprised. The Sharingan was supposed to be a bloodline skill unique to the Uchiha clan. How did Kakashi...?

Finally, the jounin lifted his cover, allowing his hidden eye to be revealed. Unlike his right eye, which was black, _this _eye was red, with what appeared to be three black teardrops evenly spaced around the pupil. Also, while not visible, the new eye gave off a strange energy.

"Ah, I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I'm honored." Zabuza cackled.

Naruto was getting a little flustered. "Sharingan, Sharingan. What the hell is that?"

Sasuke began to explain (and I quote:) "Sharingan. A power borne in the eyes and released from the pupils. Some have an ability in their eyes, called Doujutsu, that can read all types of genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and can defeat them. The Sharingan is one of the types of pupil that give you this power. But that's not the only ability the Sharingan has."

"Exactly." Zabuza finished for him. "That's not all... What's even scarier is that you can read your opponent's techniques and copy them."

At this point, Naruto was speechless. Also, he sensed that Senshi was feeling the same way. _/Did he say, ...copy techniques?../_

**/Yup. Remind you of anything? .../**

_/Yup.../_ This was like one of the forbidden jutsu listed in the scroll. A technique that was not mentioned greatly, but _was _compared to the Uchiha's Sharingan.

The blonde's thoughts were interupted, however, by a sudden mist. Without warning, they were back in the boat. At least, that's how it looked. All three genin seemed to remember their mission at the same time, as they all took defensive positions around the old man. Kakashi and Zabuza glared at each other for a while, as if to say 'your move.'

The assasin moved first, freeing his sword and dashing out into the middle of the lake. Yes, the middle. He stood on the surface of the water, striking a pose while muttering something. He was releasing chakra at a high rate, and it all became mist. By now, the fog was so thick that the team had a hard time seeing _each other_ and they were less than a foot away!

Silence overtook them once again. Then Kakashi briefly explained that Zabuza was an expert in the art of silent killing. You don't even know it until you're dead. Or something. Again, Naruto was tuning him out. He was thinking back, _trying _to remember just how it went...

Then Kakashi powered up. He simply leaned forward slightly, placed his hands in a seal, and focused. His body was then surrounded in an aura, which drove the mist away from the immediate area. Sasuke was ...well, not ready for this. The intesity of their powers... the danger just hanging in the air around him... it was almost too much. His body started shaking. He gripped his kunai tighter, full ready to end this madness.

"Sasuke." Kakashi's voice pierced the veil of tension. "Don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me." He looked back at them, smiling with just his eyes. "I don't let my comrades die."

Zabuza seemed to disagree. He landed smack dab in the middle of the group, which had been in a defensive formation to begin with. Several things happened in the next instant. The assasin rose, Kakashi turned, then jumped, the trio scattered, and they looked to find Kakashi standing with his own kunai buried in the gut of Zabuza. The odd part was that, instead of blood, ..._water_ poured from the wound. Slowly, a form emerged from the mist directly behind Kakashi. It was ...Zabuza? The silver-haired shinobi turned, the first Zabuza dispersed back into it's original, water form, then the new Zabuza struck, swinging his giant blade around, and sliced Kakashi in half. The assasin's bandanges bunched up as he grinned beneath them.

That is, until Kakashi's remains _also _went into their original, water form. _/A water clone? Impossible! How did he copy it through the mist?.../_ The next thought was never finished before a kunai tip was felt against his throat.

"Don't move."

xxxxXxxxx

The candlelight only illuminated a few square feet, but that was all Sondaime needed. He was searching through a set of old books, one after another. His old eyes scanned every page, trying to find... well, he didn't know.

For the past few nights, the old man had found it difficult to sleep. The incident with Naruto had allowed a thought to enter his mind that _just wouldn't leave._ That, in addition to his curiousity, is what drove him into the Village's old library and storage facilily, trying to find clues as to who _might _have been summoned into Naruto, and why. Anything.

Finally, he found a potential clue. A surviving list of contributors to the techniques written in the Scroll of Seals. The first two names he recognized immedietly: Shodaime and Nidaime, the first and second Hokages. None of the other names looked familiar to him, but he decided to research them all anyway. Let's see... the next name on the list was ...Ishida Senshi. That was as good a name to start with as any.

xxxxXxxxx

"It's over, is it?" Zabuza smirked under his shroud. "You can't beat me with your monkey-like imitations. That _was_ impressive, though; you had already copied my Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu and had your clone do the talking." Just then, _another_ Zabuza appered behind the stunned Kakashi. "Nice plan, but... I'm also not that easy." With that, Kakashi's earler target dispersed into a large puddle of water. Kakashi turned, suprised, as his opponent swung his weapon again, missing this time, which forced the sword to travel all the way around and stick itself in the ground at the other end of the swing. The assasin reacted quickly, though, switching his grip on the handle and swinging his leg around, landing a powerful kick that sent the silver-haired shinobi flying into the water.

When he emerged a moment later, he looked at his hand. "What's this water? It's heavy..."

The assasin appeared behind him, flying through a series of seals before launching his Water Prison technique. Kakashi was now floating in the center of a large orb of water, trapped in a prison in which he couldn't move. "That was careless... now you're trapped in my special, inescappable prison." Zabuza stood on the water with one hand at his side, one holding the prison in place. "We can finish this later." He shifted his attention to the group of genin and one old man, holding one hand to his face. He then muttered "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." and a clone rose from the lake in front of him. The clone walked towards the group a little, intending to tell the younger ninja all about how they shouldn't even _call_ themselves ninja. They were too inexperienced. Yadda Yadda.

Well, he never even got one word out of his mouth before he noticed the blonde kid beginning a long series of hand seals. He then opened one eye and said

"Koriyugen."

His eye began to change. What began as a normal, dark blue eye began to glow, giving off a bluish-white light. The entire eye was now glowing ice-blue, due to all the chakra gathered that had been gathered into it.

Kakashi just stared from his watery prison. _/What is THAT? I've never even **heard** of Koriyugen.../_

Sasuke and Sakura only gaped from their respective positions, not sure _what _to think.

Zabuza was not concerned with the kid's eye, so much as what that eye was _doing_. Not a moment after the eye lit up, the real Zabuza had a funny feeling. Like there was a really thin ...layer of chakra sweeping over him. Something akin to having someone lightly blow against your bare skin. _/What the hell? What is this kid doing?.../_

Just as fast as it began, ...it stopped. Naruto's eye regained it's former color, and the other one opened, displaying for all to see that the technique was finished. Slowly, the blonde's expression shifted into one of confidence. So, _that's _how he does it...

The young shinobi stood strait, not saying anything. He raised one arm strait up, while bending the other inwards, both hands in the Seal of the Tiger. In other words, the pose Zabuza went into before using...

"Ninpou... Hidden Mist no Jutsu!" And with that, Naruto vanished into the fog.

Zabuza was _definetly _caught off guard with this. Kakashi's eye's almost bulged out of his head. _/How the... he can copy jutsus TOO! ...But what the hell.../_ The silver-haired jounin was too stunned by the current turn of events to think very strait. All at once, there was a voice right next to him. The voice belonged to Naruto... at least, to his _body._

"Koriyugen. A forbidden jutsu listed in the Scroll of Seals. Using more chakra than a mission allows, the user focuses on the eyes, creating an effect simillar to the Sharingan. He then scans the opponent, learning all about their fighting style, their jutsus, ...in some cases, even unlocking the secrets of advanced bloodline techniques, or so I've heard. It was considered dangerous because it could become one of the most sought-after jutsus on earth, and it was considered forbidden because of the amount of chakra it ate up." A pause. "However, if only used it in _one _eye, the chakra usage is decreased by at least 40, but that also keeps me from scanning everything."

Kakashi looked around as best he could in his current state, then gave up. Naruto had used Zabuza's own vanishing technique; the blonde could be standing right in front of him for all he knew. He glanced over to see the real Zabuza frantically looking around, trying to figure out what was going on. _/This is only going to get more interesting.../_ he thought.

* * *

Well, was that worth the wait? Tell me what you think! I apologize for the longer delay in updates, but it appears to be worth it. The more stuff that happens, the longer I have to think about what I want to change, add, etc. 

By all means, review! I must know what you think! ...I'm repeating myself, aren't I?


	9. Zabuza 2 Attack of the Sharingan

Wow. That's all I can say, is wow. You people seem to really like this story. Sheesh, over a hundred reviews in only 8 chapters. I guess I have no choice but to continue the story! Now, while I intend to go into later events, this _part_ of the story will 'end' by the end of the next chapter. After that...

Well, you'll just have to wait and see.

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Momochi Zabuza was a master of silent killing. His style was to usually hide in the mist and attack without warning, killing the target before they knew they were being hunted. _Never _before had he fought an opponent that could hide in the mist just as well as himself. _Never._

He was still standing on the surface of the lake, his right hand occupied with holding the Water Prison and Kakashi in place. Just a moment ago, he sent out a Mizu Bunshin, or Water Clone, to finish off Kakashi's brats and the old man. However, one of the brats used a technique unlike most others Zabuza had seen. Somehow, ...the little punk had _scanned_ him and, judging by his next move, also read his jutsus like a book. The blonde kid, who the others called Naruto, used Hidden Mist no Jutsu; one of Zabuza's favorites. ...The little bastard shouldn't have been able to do _anything_ with water.

Yet, he did disappear.

The assasin focused on the mist, reading it, sensing it. Any movement through it would be detected, revealing the boy's location. Yet there was nothing; nothing but the unsteady breathing of the ninja on the shore. For the first time all day, he began to worry. The kid was _gone._

Then he was _back. _Naruto appeared directly in front of the startled Jounin, quickly slicing his kunai through the air, aimed strait for the head. Zabuza was still alert, though, and he caught the boy's hand, twisted it, and drove it back into his gut. The blood that spurt forth was not blood, but water. The body resumed it's previous water form. Mizu Bunshin. _/Damn it! .../_ Instantly, three more Naruto's appeared behind Zabuza, who pulled a kunai of his own out and, in one motion, sliced them all into puddles. More Mizu Bunshin. Shit. What next?

Sasuke, meanwhile, was so distracted by Super-Naruto that he almost forgot about Zabuza's earlier water clone. Almost. Seeing the bandage-faced ninja running towards him quickly snapped the boy back to reality. The clone came, sword held strait up, aiming for a downward slice...

Which was stopped. Naruto suddenly had his legs wrapped around the clone's neck, while holding the sword in place with both hands. The water clone froze, trying to process this, but would have clearly been able to break it. "What are you waiting for, idiot? Hit him while he's open!" Naruto yelled.

Just then, Sasuke's shinobi training took control, instinct forcing his hand. He reached into his pack, pulled the first weapon out that it touched, and swung. The water clone of Zabuza fell into two pieces, each disintegrating into small waves that soaked only Sasuke. Naruto dropped down in front of him, a slight grin on his face, gasping. "You know... for a moment there... I was forgetting... that this was... a team effort..." He dropped to one knee, not saying anything else. Sasuke could tell he'd run low on chakra.

He then looked at the weapon he had pulled out, instantly feeling what it _truly _was. The Evil Wind Shuriken. Even though Naruto had been showing him up since they left, even though he was as angry with the blonde punk as ever, ...somehow Sasuke managed to make himself cooperate. Naruto had a plan, and the Uchiha wasn't about to endanger the mission by being stubborn.

The blades unfolded, one by one, until the weapon's true shape appeared. With some concentration, Sasuke leapt, aiming true, and _hurled_ the shuriken at the real Zabuza.

Even though the assasin was on guard for more feign attacks, he could still see this one coming a mile away. "A shuriken won't work on me," he growled. The weapon flew strait at him, but the Jounin managed to catch it with his free hand. He then looked up to see a second shuriken flying on the same path. "Shadow Shuriken. Clever, but..." As the whirling blades came to him, Zabuza had no free hands to catch it with, so he simply jumped out of the way, letting it sail past him out over the open water. He then returned his attention to the fighters on shore.

This was his mistake. The second Evil Wind Shuriken, which had been hiding in the shadow of the original, vanished in a puff of smoke, and the _real_ Naruto appeared in it's place. Henge no Jutsu. Basic transformation. A kunai flew from his hand strait for the now-defenseless Zabuza. His right arm, to be precise. The panicked Jounin pulled his arm out of the way, freeing it from the jutsu in the process. In a rage, he turned and began to throw the caught shuriken, only to have it come to a dead stop a moment later. He turned to find Kakashi, soaked to the bone, using one arm to stop the shuriken's spin. His face was set in a glare that would leave you a smoking spot on the floor.

_/Nice plan. Use a shadow clone disguised as a shuriken to sneak behind the enemy and force him to release the jutsu.../_ For a couple of newbies that had been at each other's throats since they left the village, this was quite a change. Kakashi snuck a quick glance back at the three genin, making sure they were all alive and well. Yep, they were all in one piece. He also noticed that Naruto's eyes were their normal dark-blue. _/Strange. He used that new jutsu when he was 'different', yet now he's normal.../_

Once again, the two Jounins faced off the way they were meant to. One on one. Kakashi knocked the shuriken away, then both men jumped out over the water, putting some distance between them. While in midair, Zabuza made the Seal of the Ox, indicating the beginning of a jutsu. Kakashi's single Sharingan opened wide, already copying. Once the two men landed on the surface of the lake, the seals began. "Ox, monkey, rabbit, rat, pig, bird, ox, horse, bird, rat, tiger, dog, tiger, snake, ox, goat, snake, pig, goat, rat..." Zabuza's hands moved very rapidly, not quite a blur, but fast enough that anyone with normal eyes would have a really hard time following them.

Kakashi did not have normal eyes. As Zabuza's hands moved and created the seals, his own hands matched the movements perfectly. Every seal, every twitch, every movement, ...it was as if they were connected to the same brain. "Ninth monkey, bird, dragon, bird, ox, horse, goat, tiger, snake, rat, monkey, rabbit, pig, dragon, goat, rat, ox, monkey, bird, ninth rat, pig, ninth monkey, bird, dragon, bird, ox, horse, goat, tiger, snake, rat, monkey, rabbit, pig, dragon, goat, rat, ox, monkey, bird, ninth rat, pig, ...BIRD!" The final seal began the jutsu itself.

Slowly, almost naturally, the water began to swell. Two distinct bulges were forming, rising to form twin serpentine bodies, each made of the water itself. "Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" The two forms rose higher, thier outer layers contracting into distinct dragon-like shapes. They rose, twisted, twirled, and otherwise flowed around each other, each doing exactly the same motions as it's twin. At the topmost peak of their dance, the beasts dove, each aiming for the source of the other. Their heads hit their targets and effectively lost their hold. Waves cascaded down _around_, not _on_, the two shinobi.

A massive wave swept onshore, carrying the wet body of Naruto with it. Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna found themselves waist-deep in a surge from the lake.

The two dragons re-formed, continuing their battle. They bit, tore, and attacked each other as well as two creatures made entirely of water could. Finally, with one last bite to each other's necks, they lost the struggle. All the water that was used was normal water again, and began it's descent back to the lake. Still on the surface were the two Jounins, who were now face-to-face, their weapons interlocked in a battle for dominace. The assasin had his mind elsewhere. _/Strange... the Sharingan can absorb and copy techniques. But... why was he able to _use_ that jutsu? .../_

It was about this time that a lone figure appeared, somewhere within the treetops. His thick robes and sleeves helped to hide his thin frame. He also wore a mask, white with red markings on the lower half and framed by two sections of flowing black hair. Two thin slots in the mask itself allowed him to observe the battle before him.

The three genin and the old man watched from their location on the shore, in a stunned silence. They watched as the two fighters circled each other, moving and stopping at the same instant. They assumed various poses at the same time. The more they moved, the more Zabuza was getting freaked out. Being scanned by a kid was bad enough, now he has to fight a feakin' mirror! He gave a low growl, muttering something under his breath, then began a set of hand seals.

Which Kakashi promptly finished _for _him. "Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu!" A thin circle of water quickly surrounded the silver-haired jounin, becoming thicker and more intense by the second. In no time, it had grown into a massive, whirling torrent, which was aimed strait at the missing-nin.

"_What!"_ That was all Zabuza had time to shout before his own prized jutsu swallowed him up. The water caught him and tossed him around, taking with it all possibility of regaining control. _/I'm the one doing the jutsu, yet I CAN'T KEEP UP!.../_ The torrent swept clean out of the lake, crashing through trees and ground, maintaining it's powerful force as it went. On and on, it continued it's path of destruction for a good distance off shore.

After what seemed like an eternity, it finally forced Zabuza up against a tree. It quicly returned to the lake, leaving the assasin where he landed. For a moment, he just stood still. The combination of being hit with such a powerful technique and the fact that it was _his_ technique had left him stunned. His mind was brought back to stark reality when 4 kunai's struck him, one in each major limb. The copy ninja lightly landed on the nearest tree branch, holding a single kunai. "It's over."

Zabuza was not in the best shape, to say the least. He gasped, "How...? Can you... see the future?"

"Yeah." The jounin held up his kunai, ready for the final blow. "You're going to die."

Whatever plans Kakashi had for finishing this fight, they were never meant to be. Out of thin air, two slim, silver needles hit Zabuza in the neck, forcing him into unconsciousness. The figure was still standing on a branch, his location now revealed for all to see. Slowly, Zabuza fell to the ground face-first, very still. Basically, dead. The figure, no older than Naruto, stood watching. "You're right. He died."

No one spoke. There was nothing to say. They all looked from the new boy, back to Zabuza, back to the new boy. Kakashi lept down next to the body, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. "He really is dead..." He looked back up at the boy, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

The masked figure bowed. "Thank you very much. I have been searching for an opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

Kakashi just watched. "That mask... You're a Hidden Mist hunter-nin..."

The boy stood back up. "Impressive. You are correct."

Naruto took a few steps forward, cricking his neck, his eyes a light blue. "Oh, yeah. I remember them... Ninjas that track down and assasinate missing-nins like pretty boy over there." He motioned towards Zabuza's motionless body. "Something about preventing the secrets of the village from getting out."

Both his teammates and sensei looked at Naruto with a mix of awe and suprise. For dead-last to remember something from class, ...was unheard of. Kakashi then noticed his eyes and suddenly realized that... whatever was wrong with Naruto, it was helping, ...not hurting. _/I'm gonna have to have a nice, long talk with him later.../_

xxxxXxxxx

(...You thought I was done, didn't ya?)

**_OOOOOOXXX _**FROM THE JOURNAL OF **UCHIHA SASUKE**** _XXXOOOOOO_**

Okay, ...Zabuza was killed, right? I mean, for God's sake, after all that, ...the guy'd _better_ be dead. After using his needles, that weird kid just disappeared from the branch, and reappeared on the ground next to the body. He then picked it up, held it up at the shoulder, and vanished again. Now, personally, something about this whole situation just didn't feel right. Like there was something out of place. And I'm not talking about Naruto's sudden brain spurt. That was just a little too freaky.

Anyway, as we started walking again, Kakashi sensei just collapsed. Fell over. Boom. Out cold. Naruto and I had to carry him all the way to Tazuna's house; I carried his feet, Naruto carried his other half. ...I don't know how the little prick managed to carry a full-grown man's torso all the way there, but he did. We were both out of energy by that time, and it was a good thing, too. I would have had to kick his butt for showing off again.

For the next two days, Kakashi slept. Apparently, using his Sharingan for that long just completely wiped him out. I didn't worry about him too much, though, because for the entire two days, my mind was on Naruto. On that strange doujutsu he used on Zabuza. I admit, I don't know all the different types of techniques that different shinobi use, but I think I should have at least _heard_ about one that turns your eyes blue! Judging from what he used, it looks as if it copies jutsu's as well. What pisses me off is that Zabuza didn't even _use the jutsu in front of him_, yet Naruto copied it. There shouldn't _be_ a jutsu that copies other jutsus without them being used. God... the more I think about it, the more I want to beat his blonde brains out!

But enough of that. On day three, Kakashi sensei finally woke up. We had a short chat, and finally realized what was out of place. When the boy took Zabuza's body, he didn't destroy it; he took it as it was. Hunter-nins never did that. They always destroyed the body on site, making certain that no secrets could ever be obtained from it. The fact that his body was merely taken, in addition to the weapons used, raised severe doubts about Zabuza's actual state. If senbon were used, it would be easy for a skilled fighter to put a body into a state mimicking death. So, most likely, Zabuza was still alive. Funny, it seems the only ones who were too suprised by that news were Tazuna and Sakura. Judging by the look on Naruto's face, he had also figured out the connection with the senbon.

Kakashi's response, like a true shinobi, was to train and prepare for when we next meet him. He took the three of us out into the forest, himself on a pair of crutches. He was going to be immobile for the next week, or so. Once there, he explained our training: climb trees without the use of hands. He further clarified that we were to focus our chakra into our feet and, if done correctly, that would allow us to walk strait up the trunk. Kakashi demonstrated, crutching his way up a sheer trunk, not slipping a bit, finally stopping underneath a thick branch. Just hangin'.

According to Kakashi sensei's ever-so-trustworthy judgements, we could all use jutsus, but not correctly. Something about using too much chakra and wasting it during the jutsu. This training would help us learn to focus the right amount into the soles of the feet -- the most difficult area to focus. Too much, and you punch through. Too little, and you just slip off.

As we started climbing, I fully expected to see Naruto the super-ninja to walk right up to the top of the tree. What I saw was the blonde take a running start, make it about 3 feet off the ground, and slam his head into the dirt below. Heh, ...not as good as he thought he was. But then, I can't exactly brag, either. I made it about a dozen steps before my foot punched through the bark, and I had to jump down.

The suprise came when I looked up and found Sakura sitting on a really high branch, just grinnin' and admiring how easy it was. ...You know, sometimes she just pisses me off.

And that was how Naruto and I spent the rest of the week. Running up trees. Sakura was allowed to stop early and accompany Tazuna during the day, 'cause she's already good enough. Blah, Blah. That meant that dead-last and I were stuck in the forest, alone, for hours at a time. Every so often, I would think about how many bizarre techniques Naruto had displayed since graduating, how different he could be in the midst of battle; but he couldn't run up a tree to save his life.

By the time the two of us finally reached the tip top, the week was almost over. We were both exhausted, tired, worn out, tired, sweaty, tired, annoyed, ...and did I mention tired? Right now, it's about time to go to sleep. Tomorrow, everyone but Naruto will accompany Tazuna out to the bridge. Naruto was more worn-out than anyone else, so he gets the day off. Lazy bastard.

_**OOOOOOXXXXXXOOOOOO**_

* * *

Holy wow! Somehow, I've managed to squeeze everything I wanted to cover into one chapter. But that leaves only one chapter to go before I move on. All you Haku fans, be patient. I intend to cover the entire fight in chapter 10, so it's going to be a bit before I update. Thanks for all your patience and reviews thus far!

...Don't you dare stop. R&R!


	10. Wrap up

I know, I know. This chapter's really late, but it's the last one!. ...Please don't hurt me.

(ducks under flying blunt objects)

* * *

"Ah, Iruka. Come in, come in."

Iruka-sensei walked over and sat down in one of the Hokage's office chairs. The afternoon sun shone directly into the large room through the windows, forcing him to squint a little. Outside, he could hear his students playing and yelling as they enjoyed themselves after a long day of class. It brought a smile to his face.

"Ah, to be young again..." The old man sighed, glancing down at them through the glass.

"Indeed." Iruka's smile slowly faded. "What did you want to see me about, Sondaime?"

The Third Hokage slid some old-looking papers and photos towards Iruka. "I did some research this past week and found something I thought you should know." Iruka leaned forward, looking at the contents displayed before him. He sat quietly as the old man explained how he had found a list of contributors to the Scroll of Seals. And how he had investigated every one of the names: that's _all 374._ Hence, why it took him all week. The majority of the people had died of old age; happy, settled, and full of years. Most of the others had died in battle; with honor. But _one_ was unlike all the others.

"Of all the contributors to that scroll, only one was killed by the Nine-Tails Demon Fox." He seperated one picture from the rest. "His name was Ishida Senshi."

**xxxxXxxxx**

White. Pure, thick, gobs of it. That's **all** that was visible to the 4 people who were stranded in the middle of the half-built bridge on the edge of the Wave Country. Kakashi's Sharingan eye was rendered useless. Sakura and Sasuke were not much better off. And Tazuna... well, he had a hard enough time seeing _without_ the fog.

Within moments, a deep voice reverberated through the mist. "Sorry for the wait, Kakashi." Zabuza seemed to be feeling much better than the last time they had seen him. In fact, there were now 7 copies of the missing-nin materializing from the fog. The group was surrounded. Kakashi was being cautious, now. They were most likely _all_ water clones, but there was always that chance that one was the real Zabuza...

Sasuke, however, had thrown caution to the wind. In an instant, he lept and landed a killing blow to each and every one of the Zabuzas around them. All melted into their natural, water form.

Kakashi looked back at the young shinobi, suprised by his sudden recklessness. The expression he saw, however, was not of arrogance, fear, or even his usual cool, expressionless look; this was anger, pure and simple. There was only one thing the jounin could think of that would be making Sasuke act like this: the previous battles, in which Naruto demonstrated that he was improving _more _than the young Uchiha. His guess was right on the money. Sasuke was indeed fuming over the recent past, suddenly comparing himself with his blonde teammate.

Off in the distance, two figures slowly emerged from the fog. They could _all_ make out the forms of Zabuza and his 'partner,' the young hunter-nin. Zabuza spoke quietly. "He saw through the water clones. He's grown." He turned to the boy. "Looks like a rival has appeared, eh, Haku?"

_/I will not be made a fool of by that dead-last! I'm better than him! Stronger than him! Faster than him!../_ In a rage, Sasuke ran towards the assasins, kunai drawn and ready. _/I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU, NARUTO!../_

**xxxxXxxxx**

Naruto awoke with a brief yelp. Cold sweat ran down his face, causing a large, dark spot to form on his shirt. Wow, that was one whopper of a nightmare! First he changes into 'Sexy no Juutsu' and gets stuck in it. Then Sasuke falls in love with him... He shuddered. _/No more late-night ramen with sausage and chili sauce. /_

**/Please. /** Senshi's voice almost had a pleading tone to it.

For the past week, Senshi had resigned himself to just giving Naruto advice during training. Or just butting in on his private thoughts. Or laughing at him. He had not yet tried to take control of Naruto's body again, and the young boy suspected that, if he did, there wouldn't be much he could do to stop him.

Naruto stumbled out of the room and down the stairs, only to find Tazuna's daughter washing dishes. No one else was there. "Hey, where is everyone?" He asked.

She turned to him and grinned. "Oh, Naruto. You're supposed to rest today. Sensei said so."

In a flash, he was fully awake and back in his room, flying out of his pajamas and into his bright orange ninja outfit. **/You have _got_ to find something less ...glaring... to wear. / **Senshi droned.

The blonde stopped in mid stride and began to speak out loud to the voice in his head. "You _shut up _about my clothes! It's _my_ choice, _my _body, so just **_shut up!_**"

**/...Touch-y, aren't we?../**

The shinobi jumped back down the stairs three at a time, ran out the door declaring "I'm off!" and ran like hell to get to that bridge.

**xxxxXxxxx**

The clicking and clanging of senbon vs. kunai filled the air as hunter-nin and genin faced off. Both fighters were incredibly fast, each swinging with uncanny presicion. However, in a face-off like this, Haku had a few more advantages: He had hundreds of needles to Sasuke's few kunai, and he knew where to stick them. But that was not something to dwell on for too long. Somehow, this black-haired boy was nearly _matching _him in speed.

The two fighters finally reached a point where they were only pushing against each other's weapon, competing for leverage. They stared silently at each other for a moment. Haku spoke first. "I don't want to have to kill you, but if you won't stand down..."

"Don't be foolish." Sasuke had forgotten his earlier grudge in the heat of battle, and was now smiling confidently.

"So be it." The masked boy held up his free hand and began a bizzare series of ...half-seals. That's the only decent way to describe someone doing hand seals with just ...one ...hand. Kakashi's eye opened wide in suprise. Not even _he _had seen such a skill. Haku finally stopped, quietly saying "Secret Juutsu: Flying Water Needles," then he stomped one foot into the nearest puddle. Instantly, all the water on the bridge sprang to life, forming hundreds of needle-like forms that just floated in midair. Just floating... right before rushing straight for Sasuke.

The needles struck, causing a cloud of water and mist to form. Haku had lept away at the last moment, letting the attack hit every side of his opponent, but he was suprised to find an empty clearing; no body. Obviously, Sasuke had lept _up_ instead of sideways, giving him the advantage of a clean shot. He sent three shuriken, all easily dodged by the masked boy. Once Haku recovered, though, Sasuke appeared right behind him. They lept away from each other, and Sasuke swung his arm around, kunai in hand. The attack was blocked, as expected, letting the Uchiha toss another, _hidden_ kunai. Haku ducked under the projectile, placing his face in perfect striking distance. Sasuke's kick landed, sending the hunter-nin flying backwards to land at the feet of Zabuza. It was the only _real_ hit he would get for a while.

The larger assasin was suprised, to say the least. His expression quickly faded into cockyness, though, and he said "Haku, at this rate, we'll be driven back."

Haku rose to his feet, as if unfazed by the blow. "Yes." Without another word, he began to glow. A blue flame-like aura faded into existence around him. The temperature of the air took a sudden plunge. Haku formed his hands into a single, obscure seal, silently concentrating. The water around them, used for both water clones and liquid needles, now formed itself into large, rectagular sheets that stood taller than both of them. Ice. Haku spoke again, his voice colder, more distant. "Secret Juutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors." The water/ice continued growing, forming more sheets in a row above the first, and one final mirror at the very top closed the dome.

Quietly, Haku walked up to the back of the nearest mirror, ...then _into_ it. He literally melded with the ice, his image slowly coming into focus on the inside of the ice as he ...um ...flowed.

Kakashi had seen enough. He began running towards the dome, only to be blocked by a grinning Zabuza. "Your opponent is me." He glaced back at the boys. "Against that juutsu, he's finished." Silently, he added, _/Let's see the blonde freak copy THAT!../_

**xxxxXxxxx**

"Wa- _CHOO!_"

Naruto sniffed, looked around, then continued on.

**xxxxXxxxx**

Sasuke had seen some pretty strange stuff in his nightmares. Even in real life, things have weirded him out pretty good. This wasn't the worst, but it was definitely the strangest. Haku could now be seen in _all_ of the mirrors that made up his icy prison. He looked around, trying to figure it out. Something didn't seem right, here. If they were clones, then he only had to defend against the _real _one.

No sooner had that thought finished, than the senbon started flying. From _every_ direction. The Uchiha was literally being rained on by thin slivers of steel. So heavy was the attack, and so many were the weapons, that Sasuke was forced to bend down and cover his head with his hands, shaking. This was definitely not right. If he could only figure out _how _the attacks were coming...

Outside the dome of death, the two jounins continued glaring at each other. Zabuza growled "If you try to get by me, I'll kill those two." He motioned towards where Sakura and Tazuna stood. Kakashi was in a bad situation. He couldn't leave them to Zabuza, but he couldn't just stand there while Sasuke was slowly being killed!

Sasuke's kunai had been knocked out of his hand earlier, and had landed by Sakura's feet. She picked it up, and quietly told Tazuna "I'm going to leave your side now." With that, she ran, keeping a close eye on the older fighters _and _the dome, then lept up and screamed "Sasuke! Take this!" throwing the kunai back at the quivering shinobi. All he needed was a weapon to defend himself with, she figured. The kunai flew straight, heading right for Sasuke...

Until it was plucked out of the air by a pale hand, reaching out from the inside of an ice mirror. Wordlessly, Haku stared at the weapon, then at his victim, and twirled the kunai around, bringing it into attacking position. Sasuke only fell back to his knees, exhausted from all the blows. He could tell he was well beaten, and probably not far from collapsing entirely. Now his opponent had _his_ weapon. Damn.

Everything was still for a few moments. Everyone stared at Haku as he stuck halfway out of a mirror, displaying his catch for all to see. Sakura was stunned, near crying; that was _not_ what she wanted to have happen! Sasuke was just trying to gather his strength for the next wave of steel rain. And nobody moved. All was silent.

-------------------

A light whooshing sound, like that of a tiny object moving at high speeds, caught their attention next. Haku turned his head just in time to meet a single shuriken face-first, which then spun around and hit him a second time. The blows stunned him, and he actually _fell out_ of the mirror, lying still on the ground. Another moment of stunned silence. Everyone's thoughts were basically the same:

_/What the hell?../_

Haku sat up slowly, trying to figure out what had hit him, when his eyes met the rest of the shurikens. There were about thirty of the small, whirling blades just hovering in the air. It was a sight eerily simillar to his own water needle attack, only _these _were solid, and could do so much more damage...

In the next instant, they all attacked, waves of shurikens flying from all directions. Haku was able to dodge them, even though stunned, but when he looked back, he saw that they were coming up and around, like they were being controled in midair! What began as about thirty shurikens suddenly seemed like a _hundred _as they all came back, again and again, in a whirlwind of steel.

Kakashi had seen this technique before. _/Ningyoushibai no Koutetsu. Stringing several weapons together with Chakra, and controling them like a bunch of puppets. ...Tenten uses that juutsu.../_

In the flurry of attacks, Haku caught one of the shuriken. He instantly felt the pull of the chakra as it tried to get away from him, then he let loose a few dozen senbon in the general direction it was being pulled towards. There was a noise in the distance, and all of the weapons fell at once, like they had just ...died. Haku was a bit confused. None of these genin should have been able to master such a complicated technique as that, and neither his victim, Kakashi, nor the girl were using it, ...yet the other boy was unaccounted for. Could it have been him...?

Footsteps. Rapid, like someone running quickly. Everyone looked around, but no one could be seen in the thick mist. It was just noise. That is, until Naruto emerged from his Hidden Mist juutsu and was on top of Haku before anyone knew what was happening. His kunai was blocked with a senbon. Haku strained slightly under Naruto's weight. Three more Naruto's appeared around him. Clones. Haku shoved the first Naruto away from him, then sent three senbon into each clone's face. All disappeared in a puff of smoke. They didn't fade away or dissolve into water, like he expected. "Kage Bunshin?" The hunter-nin didn't often fight shinobi who used such a powerful skill. This one could be a challenge...

In the next instant, quicker than even Haku's reaction time, the _real _Naruto appeared behind Haku, kneeling down, and preparing his hands in the seal of the tiger. What came next was an attack that would haunt Haku for all eternity.

Kakashi saw what was coming instantly, and thought _/No. He wouldn't... /_

"Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique! _ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!_" And the blonde struck, sending four fingers into a place that usually fit just one, or two if you were lucky. ...And if it was possible for someone's eyes to bug out of slits in a mask, Haku certainly made sure everyone knew it. The hunter-nin was thrown high into the air, wailing in a comical, high-pitched voice, and somehow landed atop his own ice dome, curled up in the fetal position, clutching his hind end, trying to get his breath back. All rational thoughts had ceased in his head.

Zabuza, Sakura, and Tazuna all had the same look of ...just ...absolute _dumbfoundedness_. Kakashi was holding his face in his hands, making a mental note to _never _hit Naruto with such stupid attacks again. They seemed to rub off on him.

**xxxXxxx**

Iruka-sensei sat back in his chair, scratching his head. "Okay, so what does this Ishida Senshi have to do with anything? I don't really see a connection."

"Think about this: He was killed by the Kyuubi more than a century ago. Naruto is now the 'container' of the Kyuubi. That fact alone was enough to draw his spirit to the boy. He _must _have been the one sent into Naruto's body through the scroll." The old man sat back, stewing over what he had researched for so long.

Iruka picked up the picture of Senshi, studying his features. He was rather tall, taller even than Shodaime, pictured next to him as a young man. His hair was long and straight, tied into a ponytail behind him. He wore rather thick-looking gloves and a flak vest over a regular, long-sleeve shirt. He had a happy, almost carefree expression on his face. "He seems nice enough." Iruka perked. "He doesn't even look like a fighter."

The old man sighed a little. "Official records state that Ishida Senshi was the top-ranked Taijutsu _master _of the Fire Country back when he was still alive. Old tournament scores ranked him very high, only about 3 spots from champion. Not much else was written down about him." The Hokage stood up, turning slowly to look out his window, again watching the children below.

"What I don't know is ...does this Senshi hold any kind of grudge against the Nine-Tails? And if so, ...how will Naruto himself handle it?"

**xxxXxxx**

Naruto wasn't even thinking about Senshi at that moment. He stood in the middle of Haku's ice mirrors, holding Sasuke up by one arm, focusing on how to get his friend out of this. He had already tried carrying him out, but they were both knocked back into the dome by Haku who had, apparently, recovered from his earlier ...injury.

The hunter-nin reappeared in his mirrors at that moment, his voice quivering with rage and embaressment. "I was going to give you a chance to surrender! To let your deaths be quick and painless!" Naruto almost grinned when he watched the shinobi speak. He could almost see the red glow of his face behind that white mask. "But now... Now you've done it... _You've made a fool of me!"_ He raised his hands, both shaking from anger, each holding a dozen sparkling silver senbon, ready to tear the two boys to pieces. Then he looked up and stopped. For some reason, he just ...stopped.

Outside, the fog had cleared significantly. In fact, all the occupants of the bridge could now see inside the dome clearly. And they were also not moving. All eyes were staring into the dome. Or, more accurately, at one of the reflections in the mirrors.

You see, just because the Demonic Ice Mirrors were made of ice, doesn't mean they reflect like any ordinary mirror. It was clear to all that Naruto was standing in the center of the clearing, holding an injured Sasuke. However, ...in the reflections, there _was no Naruto_. In his place was another man, much taller, with his long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail behind him. His flak jacket was blue, and a slightly different style than Kakashi's. He wore ablack long-sleeve shirt, dark-grey pants, thick gloves, and heavy-looking boots. In short, it was someone completely different standing where a young blonde boy should have been.

Naruto noticed everyone staring at the mirrors, and turned to look himself. The reflection turned too, and Naruto and Senshi were face to face for the first time. _/Wait, ...is that you?../_

**/Yeah. ...Wow, I haven't seen myself in a long, ...long ...time. /**

At this point, Haku snapped out of his stare and commenced his attack. Needles rained down once again. As useless as Sasuke was before, Naruto was no better now. Both boys fell to the ground, trying not to let themselves be stabbed at the wrong points. This was no easy task when the needles were coming from freakin' _everywhere_.

**/Well, that's new. He's using the mirrors to warp back and forth really fast. He's trying to make you think there's more than one of him. /**

_/That's not really helping me!../_ Naruto was starting to get annoyed. Just when he thought he could rely on this guy, he sits there and points out useless info!

All at once, the steel rain stopped. Naruto took that oppertunity to look around and finally saw Sasuke, standing up in front of him, ...looking ever-so-much like a two-legged cactus. The Uchiha had taken most of the needles in Naruto's place! He used his own body to protect him!

"Hey, ...what happened ...to you?" Sasuke's voice was weak, shaking. "And here ...I thought I ...was getting worried ...that you were ...going to beat me..." He laughed, weakly. He then began to fall, but was caught halfway by Naruto, who was _very_ careful not to hit any of the needles, lest he drive them further in or stab himself.

"Sasuke! ...Sasuke!" This was something the blonde would never have expected anyone to do for him, much less his own rival. For someone to die for_ him_, the village outcast...

Scenes from his life began flashing in front of his eyes. He saw everyone in the boat, on their way to the Wave Country, Sasuke glaring at him. He saw himself sitting in the Hokage's office, pouting. He saw himself in Iruka-sensei's class, woozy from his beating. He then saw himself, Iruka and Mizuki, all in the middle of the forest, where Mizuki revealed that Naruto himself was the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.

Then, briefly, he saw a flash of another scene, at night, staring upwards, looking at a gigantic animal. It's red eyes glowed like embers in the darkness, and it's nine massive tails seemed to sweep the stars out of the sky. Blackness came after that.

-----------------  
---------------

What followed then was the most bizzare series of events of the day. And this has been a _really_ weird day. Haku was just about to renew his attack when it happened. Mist began to build up strangely thick around the two fighters, just before it was blown away by a fierce red flame. Naruto's small body began to change. His hands curled up, becoming more like claws. His body took a lateral stance, like that of a 4-legged animal. His spiked, blonde hair became more wild, like it was alive. His eyes were next, making a drastic shift from blue ...to blood red. During this whole transformation, his body was giving off a strange, red chakra, projecting it with enormous force. It was like, ...like he had become some sort of demon. His eyes flared as he gave a feral scream, then reared up and began to charge the nearest mirror.

Haku flinched. Never before had he faced an opponent that suddenly began changing into an _animal._

The possesed Naruto stopped after two steps, the projected energy coming to an abrupt halt as well. His face resembled that of someone who had just recieved a heavy blow to the gut. His scream of rage turned into howls of pain as he bent over, clutching his head. He began stumbling around like a drunk, all the time trying to keep his skull from erupting. No one could figure out how to help him, so they all stayed back.

Kakashi noticed first, then the others followed his gaze. Even though they couldn't see it in person, they could all watch the inner battle by way of Haku's mirrors. It was a disturbing sight; while Naruto stumbled around, the reflection showed the stranger ...half-morphing into a terrible fox-like creature. Different parts of his head and body changed into more animalistic forms, but then back. Like they couldn't be maintained. A tail sprouted, then sucked back in. Half of his face stretched into a fox head, then back to normal. It was literally a battle for spiritual and mental dominace. The silver-haired jounin knew right away that the demon was the Kyuubi, but the other man... he must be the one that's been inhabiting Naruto since that incident with the Scroll of Seals.

Kakashi quickly glanced around, but drew a relieved sigh as he realized that Zabuza was as distracted as he was. There was no immedite threat.

Inside the dome, Naruto's body flickered in the reflections. He started giving off red chakra again, which also flickered, turning a dark blue every so often. This struggle continued for a few minutes, Naruto appearing to weaken from the strain it was having on his body.

All at once, he stopped stumbling. His eyes opened as wide as they could, almost a _glowing _ice-blue. He stood up straight, he clenched his fists to his sides, near his waist, leaned back, ...and let a _real _scream rip from his throat. In that one instant, the entire inside of the dome was _filled_ with a bluish-white light. It literally poured out between the ice like water under pressure! The screams were drowned out by a massive roaring sound, puncutated by several sharp cracking and popping noises. The ice mirrors had finally had enough, and they all gave way at once, shattering into a million glittery fragments.

------------  
--------

As the dust settled, the rumble of the escaping shockwave was the only noise. A few coughs, some slipping, nothing more. Sakura was blown clear to the end of the bridge, her landing softened by Tazuna-san. Both lay still, knocked out by the blast. Kakashi stood where he was, trying to see into the smoke. Trying to figure out what happened to Naruto and Sasuke. Zabuza and Haku were both nowhere to be seen. Probably running even now. Such power... it was insane!

Finally a figure began to emerge. Walking slowly, carrying something, the figure approached Kakashi. It was Naruto, carrying the limp, lifeless body of Sasuke. Naruto's head was bowed, his walk solem and steady. When he got to his sensei's position, he gently laid his former rival down on the ground.

"He died a warrior's death. No shinobi could ask for more than that."

Naruto didn't even look up to acknowledge his teacher's words. He just quietly said, "I know."

His hand moved in a blur. In less than the blink of an eye, Naruto's hand was up next to his head, holding the five senbon that had been aiming for his head. Still facing Kakashi, the blonde only said "Excuse me," then turned and disappeared.

Kakashi only had time to turn his head and spot Haku when Naruto struck. He had run up behind Haku, hitting him square in the back with both fists in a blow that combined brute strength with chakra release, making quite an impact. As the hunter-nin's body flew upwards from the force of the blow, Naruto launched his last kunai, throwing it with such force that it actually left a vapor trail behind it, showing it's path as it shot like a bullet ...straight into the back of Haku's head.

Kakashi could only stare in wonder and shock as he watched Naruto take out a special-class member of ANBU in less than 5 seconds and with only 2 attacks.

However, he wasn't finished. There was still Zabuza. By this time, all the mist and smoke had cleared, giving the only 3 shinobi still standing a clear view of each other. Yes, Zabuza was still on the bridge. He, too, had watched his ward get wasted in no time flat. Now that little monster was glaring at _him_. ...For the first time in several years, the missing-nin could honestly admit to being afraid for his life.

Naruto charged, running at normal speed towards the taller assasin. Zabuza grinned confidently, sending two instant water clones to intercept. Confidence turned back to fear, however, when the boy ran _straight through them_. Well, sh--. Only one thing left for him to do. Zabuza grabbed his massive sword and sent it into a sideways sweep, hoping to catch him in mid-run. What he hit was the afterimage left by Naruto's sudden disappearance. Gone again. A voice behind him hissed "No more games." Zabuza then felt the force of two chakra-charged punches at once: one to the middle of his spine, one to his liver. Sandwiched by two shadow clones, the assasin dropped his sword, letting it clang to a stop on the ground.

The blows were just as hard, if not harder, than what Naruto had given Haku. The assasin hit his knees, his breath long gone. As he struggled to inhale, he watched in horror as the blonde picked up his sword, bringing it up to his face with one hand(!). "It's over," he hissed. The massive blade rose high into the air, then came down on Zabuza's neck like a guiottine.

**xxxXxxx**

The sun was setting just below the clouds, it's light a beautiful mix of oranges and reds. Naruto and Kakashi stood on the main pier of the Wave Country, watching it silently. There was no discussion about the fight. Both knew that surrender was an option that neither Haku nor Zabuza would even consider, much less accept. Both knew it was best not to bring it up.

Naruto had carried Sasuke's body back to the house, and Kakashi carried Sakura. By then, Tazuna had woken back up and walked all by himself. No one said a word. There was nothing _to_ say. They all knew that Sakura would be upset for quite some time when she came to. Sasuke, after all, was her obsession.

After about half and hour, Kakashi spoke up. "So, where is Naruto right now?" The blonde looked over at him with a slightly suprised look. "I'm not as stupid as I look, believe me. I can tell those aren't his eyes on your face."

Indeed, Naruto's deep blue eyes had not re-emerged at all since the explosion. They had been stuck in their ice-blue form. The blonde began to explain who Senshi was, and how he was inside Naruto's body. "When the Kyuubi began taking control, I knew something wasn't right. I had to step in or risk losing the real Naruto for good. But..." He paused. "There was also the risk of serious damage from the infighting. During that blast... the real Naruto went into a coma. Right now, he's asleep in here." He patted his chest. "I don't know how long it will take to bring him back, but until then, I'm in control of this body."

"And the Nine-Tails?"

"Still sealed. He had almost broken out, but I managed to strengthen the seal just in time. What happened back on the bridge shouldn't happen again."

Behind them, the door to Tazuna's house opened, and Sakura stepped out. She looked really depressed. Still, she tried to smile, to make her teammates believe that she would be fine. That she wasn't fighting the urge to cry at all times.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Ah, Sakura. You're just in time. I've got something I need to tell you about our Naruto, here."

**xxxXxxx**

The next morning, after they had all said their goodbyes and left, the bridge lay dormant once again. The bodies of both missing-nin lay where they had fallen, untouched, undisturbed. Silently, a squad of ANBU appeared, moving quickly to obtain and destroy the bodies of Zabuza and Haku. They worked quickly and effeciently, making sure that not a single trace of either body was left. They vanished as suddenly as they came.

None of them even bothered to find or recover the massive sword of Momochi Zabuza. They didn't even think about it. If they had, they would have been suprised to find it missing; there was an outline of it in blood still staining one area of the bridge. All other traces of it were gone.

**THE END ?**

* * *

Hey, wow. I finished it! Now I can sleep through the night! HAHAHA! Again, sorry for the ...really long delay. Inspiration strikes you out of nowhere, ne? 

A few notes: Senshi only took control during the Ningyoushibai no Koutetsu and after the blast. Naruto drove the rest of the time. Sasuke _is_ dead. Naruto was _mad_ while Zabuza and Haku were _tired_; instant one-sided fight. And yes, Senshi is in full control from now on.

Read and Review! Also, any opinions on a sequel would be well appreciated!


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